Out on a Limb
by Entangler
Summary: He's learnt that petty crime doesn't pay... enough. So now Ace is ready to ramp up the stakes and pursue his plans to reap in the big bucks. Follow Cassie as she recalls the events of the last reckless and wild few years after being caught up in Ace's scheming and manipulative ploys to get 'whatever' he wants. AcexOC. WARNING: Offensive language, drug use, raunchy bits.
1. Part 1: Prologue

_If you wanna read a good Ace story with a hint of Chris, then you're in the right place..._

**Warning: **Contains heavy offensive language, heart-stopping action, heart-throbbing intimacy (non-explicit... I think), drug use, underage drinking and illegal crime... lots of unruly, callous crime.

This story is written completely from my imagination and all events that take place are entirely fictional. Stealing! is very, very bad and I do not condone it at all. Drinking and drug use can be dangerous and addictive - so always BE SENSIBLE and value your brain cells. It's all hellish fun to write about in a fictional world, but real life has consequences.

**The Characters: **For King's characters, I've tried to get them as close to the originals as possible - after all, that's what 'fan-fiction's' all about right? The original characters all have a purpose to the story, and each have their own personalities and mini-stories to tell. The protagonist is not a Mary Sue - I just don't write that way - too boring. I write my characters from the heart and aim for realism.

**Ace:** What drives my story is Ace's hunger for power and money, not just the fact that he's a bully. I don't center my story around him being completely merciless. He just wants what he wants, just like everyone else. But what sets him aside, is that he's got more balls, brains and determination (not to mention arrogance) to pull it off than most people. Don't fuck him off though, the last thing you wanna do is get Ace angry...

**Reviews:** I've received tons of great feedback via reviews and PM's, and I appreciate every word! It helps me to see that the story and characters are coming across as I'd hoped them to. I've spent countless enjoyable hours working on this, and to see that other people are enjoying it too makes it all the more worthwhile :)

Special thanks to: Chailyn Kamaria, kabam23, Mrs. Ace Merrill, SinfulxVampire67, SSJ Leia.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Part 1 - Prologue**

It's risky to write shit like this down; I know. But I've been thinking about it over and over in my head for the past week and well… fuck it. I'm gonna do it anyway. Sitting here in this tiny, run-down shit-hole, miles from anyone and anywhere, I'm bored out of my mind and need something to do.

OK, fine. I'll be honest. Boredom isn't the only reason why I wanna do this. I've been told that I've lost touch with reality, my judgment is clouded, and basically that I need to take a good hard look at myself. Usually I wouldn't give a shit what anyone thinks, but when it's a friend you respect that's telling you you're on a downward spiral to an early death, maybe I should at least consider it. So, over the past week I've been trying to look at myself… honestly I have. But it hasn't been easy. Looking into my past is like looking through pressed glass. You know things are clear on the other side but all you see is one big blur. So, I'm thinking that if I write stuff down, starting right from the beginning, I can rewalk the path that brought me here. Maybe then I'll be able to understand the ruin that my friend says I've deteriorated down to.

I've found a good hiding spot under one of the rotten floorboards and I can quickly stash this away in there if Ace arrives back suddenly, because he wouldn't approve of this at all. To him, writing out what we've been up to over the last couple of years would be nothing but foolish. Secrets are meant to be safely kept to oneself, not confessed on paper. But I need to be honest with myself and face up to the things I've done. I need a way to dig up the guilt that I've managed to bury so deeply inside that I can no longer feel it. I need to do this, even if it means… writing down the biggest secret I've ever kept from him.

It was partly my fault that he had no choice but to skip town. I could've prevented all of this if I'd been honest with him, but that would've come at a price so high that I couldn't have lived with myself afterwards. Knowing that I'm deceiving Ace is painful. The guilt of it eats away at me every day. But I chose the lesser of the two punishments. This is nothing compared to what would've happened if I'd told him what was really going on.

So, there's nothing more I can do now but sit here and wait all alone while Ace scours the state, looking for a way to prove his innocence… because he is innocent; I know that for a fact. It wasn't him that went squawking to the cops about Diego and his boys dealing cocaine, and it's not his fault that their gang is now searching the state with a fine-tooth comb, looking for him. Those guys are merciless, ruthless, unforgiving. And what happened would surely be a warrantable offence for the death penalty.

Of course, I could end all of this right now by fronting up with the truth, but I could never bring myself to do that. Sure, it scares me to think of what Ace might do to me if he ever found out I've betrayed him, but it's not just my head that'll roll; I'm not the only one tied into this mess. And besides, if I know Ace, he'll pull it off and get us out of this. And that means I'll be able to keep my terribly enormous secret to myself.

I'll be able to protect this... but I can always send it up in flames if I need to. Right, no more justification; I'm doing it. There goes page 1, in the tin.


	2. Chapter 1: The Alleyway

**The Alleyway**

* * *

So… from the beginning. Now when would that be exactly? When I woke up on that farm, barely remembering who I was? When two rowdy, careless teenage guys reluctantly gave me a ride into Castle Rock? When Rose and Violet took me into their home and gave me a job at the Diner? No. I think there's only one place to start – when my already upside down life was turned on its head. When I met _him_.

It was the Spring of 1960, nearly three years ago now. I'd been taking a short walk during a lunch break, casually strolling through the back-streets of Castle Rock and exploring the new town that I quite literally happened to find myself in.

I'd discovered this immensely overgrown alleyway which had beautiful overhanging willows, dark mossy walls and knee-high grass at either-side of a narrow dirt path. It was one of those places that you could lose yourself in if you took a moment to bask in its beauty. I listlessly strolled through it feeling the soft blades of grass sweeping around my shins, when I noticed the sounds of a heated argument coming from around the bend up ahead. The voices were muffled, but the disruptive tones told me this was more than a simple disagreement.

_Time to leave,_ I told myself, turning on my heels.

I made it back out onto the road but then stopped suddenly when a clear cry rang out through the alley walls. "Let me go you asshole!"

I immediately reacted and found myself sprinting back down the alleyway to the curve. I knew better than to senselessly run in there without checking it out first, so I hunched forward and edged my way closer, being sure to stay absolutely silent. When I carefully peered around the bend my stomach sank with pity. One guy, who I guessed would be in his early twenties, had a much younger looking kid pinned up against the alley wall.

"You don't wanna fuck with me Chambers," said the older guy in a firm, overpowering voice as he lent close to the kid, clenching either side of his T-shirt collar tightly with his fists. "If I hear you've breathed a word about this to anyone, you're fuckin' dead."

The kid's face was fury red and his eyes were narrowed in a scowl as he despised being held against his will. My pity then grew into fear as the kid struggled to reply between heavy breaths, "Fuck you Ace."

Ace leered over his shoulder to his friend, who I hadn't noticed casually leaning against the opposite fence. "Your brother sure can't help asking for it, can he Eyeball?" The unforgiving smirk on Eyeball's face grew solid as he nodded in agreement.

Then before I could even think the words, '_Some brother you are'_ Ace turned back to the kid, gave him one last smile of supremacy and then let loose on him, holding him up with his left arm and laying into him with his right. The kid cowered and tried to protect his head, but it didn't do much good – Ace just kept on pounding him down with all the brute force he could deliver.

Without sparing another moment I sprinted out towards them and grabbed Ace's upper right arm, pulling it downwards in an attempt to reduce the force.

"Stop it! He's just a kid!" I screamed at him.

My pulling wasn't very effective, but it sure got his attention. He stopped swinging and glanced over his shoulder to see who had entered his domain. His brutal stare turned into a mocking grin as he saw this mere girl clinging to his arm with a solid look of determination on her face.

"Who the fuck are you?" he asked, his voice filled with sarcasm. His eyes then fell down to my hand which was still firmly holding his bicep and I didn't need words to tell me to get it off… fast.

The kids' nose was bloodied and sickly, with the left side of his face already beginning to swell black and blue. Over the previous few months, I'd been through a lot. I'd survived out on the streets of Castle Rock for weeks with nothing and I thought that experience had made me a strong person. But at that moment I realized - I had nothing on this guy. Despite what Chris had just been through, despite being helpless and vulnerable to these guys who showed no mercy and would have left him lying there in a pool of his own blood, he stood straight upright and stared Ace in the eyes with a face of boldness and resilience.

Realizing the game was up, Ace lent close to him and spoke in a smooth but firm voice, "You better remember what I said Chris. I won't go so easy on you next time." He then released Chris's T-shirt from his grip, leaving a tightly crumpled clump above his shoulder, and took a couple of steps back to clear the way for him to leave.

Most people in that situation would have bolted, but not Chris. He hesitated to move at all and shot a concerned look over to me.

"You can fuck off now Chambers," Ace shouted threateningly.

I got the message that Chris didn't want to leave me alone with these guys, but I sure wasn't planning on hanging around. I tilted my head, motioning for him to follow me. He began moving slowly towards me, keeping his eyes locked on Ace as he passed by him. I started to back away from the scene and Chris followed inch by inch.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" Ace said to me with a casual frown. I froze mid-step, stunned that I was expected to stay but not about to argue with him either. "I'm not finished with _you_ yet."

I showed him by best face of skepticism, but his remained adamant. I took a swift look down the last part of the alley as I weighed up our options. Simply walking away or running seemed like poor choices; they'd be sure to tackle us in a few yards, likely lay into the kid again and perhaps even me if they were that way inclined. No, there was only one way to play this and that was to show them that I wouldn't be pushed around. If I didn't, he'd think he owned me indefinitely.

So I motioned Chris to leave. "Just go," I whispered, trying to appear confident.

He hesitated again and then reluctantly left, walking slowly away and constantly looking behind him every few yards until he was out of the alley and out of our sight.

So there I was, standing in an isolated alley with Ace and Eyeball, two of the most notorious bad-boys in town. Not that I knew that at the time; I had absolutely no idea who these guys were.

I didn't know that when most people hear the name "Ace Merrill," the words "arrogant" and "asshole" immediately spring to mind. Everyone in Castle Rock knows the name well. They remember when the Merrill's moved into the quiet town when Ace was just six, and for the first time parents worried about taking their kids to school. The kids were terrified of being left there each day with "the bad-kid," who would steal their lunches or pick on them in every way imaginable. For the poor souls who tried to defend their lunch, their efforts would only send them home hungry with a black eye.

The kid's parents found that it was no good confronting Ace's parents about it. All they'd do was point the blame at the teachers or whoever else they could get into the firing line. So, eventually the town gave up fighting, finding it much easier to turn a blind eye to Ace's bad attitude than arguing with a stubborn and intoxicated Mr. Merrill. But still, everyone in the town knew, that if that kid was left to run wild the way he was, then God help the town when he grew up. Unfortunately for them, they'd _still_ underestimated him.

And I didn't know that Eyeball Chambers came from the most disheartening family in town. His older brother is locked up in a military prison for rape, while his father constantly goes on bender after bender. The mother usually leaves town during these times, asking Eyeball to watch the three youngest kids… not that he ever hangs around to fulfill his duties. He's always off causing trouble with Ace, leaving them to fend for themselves. Eyeball never did well in school and actually got a girl pregnant at 15. She lost the baby, which is really sad - but to be honest, Eyeball moves from girl to girl so fast that I don't think even a child would tie him down. He's just not the 'commitment' type – except when it comes to Ace. On a snap of Ace's fingers, Eyeball will be there loyally at the ready for anything that he might bring their way.

Perhaps if I'd known these things, I would've been more cautious – but knowing me… I doubt it.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" I yelled at them. "How old was that kid? Thirteen? Fourteen? What gives you the right to go around beating the shit out of kids who are so much younger than you? And what makes you think you can tell _me_ what to do?"

I ranted on and on for a while, with Ace leaning back against the fence silently analyzing me and with Eyeball shaking his head in disbelief, his mouth gaping open, as I tried to lecture the toughest guys in the area.

"Are you done?" Ace asked bluntly, interrupting me when he'd finally heard enough. His calmness made me feel like I'd gone completely over the top and I felt a little embarrassed, especially since it was obvious that neither of them gave a flying toss what I had to say.

He took a deep breath and then very calmly, but very seriously, asked "How much did you hear?"

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously.

"How long were you eavesdropping before you decided to come out and be the big hero?"

My brain didn't know which bit to process first. I was pissed that he'd called me an eavesdropper and a _"big hero"_ but I was also worried that he wouldn't believe that I'd heard jack all of what he said.

"I didn't hear anything… and I wasn't '_eavesdropping'_."

"Bullshit. Don't fuckin' lie to me. What did you hear?"

"OK fine. You said _he'd better not open his mouth._"

"Yeah, what else?"

"That's it. Honestly, I wasn't there long before you started hitting him," I said indisputably.

He took another deep breath and pursed his lips together, his eyes narrowing as he stared at me hard, trying to determine whether I was bullshitting him or not. After a long pause he appeared to come to the conclusion that I was telling the truth.

"You need to stay away from him. You got it?"

"Or what?" I scoffed, still determined not to let this guy tell me what to do.

He pushed himself off the wall and slowly walked closer to me until he was standing but millimeters away. I stared up into his composed yet demanding expression, determined not to show any intimidation.

"I hope I don't hear anything to suggest you've been poking your nose in where it doesn't belong… again." Then he touched the underside of my chin lightly with his hand and his eyes turned from intimidating black to alluring blue. "I wouldn't wanna have to spoil that pretty face of yours…"


	3. Chapter 2: Words of Wisdom

**Words of Wisdom**

* * *

Cleaning the front windows of the diner was a job I hated doing. Not because I was too lazy to clean, but because you never knew who might come inconveniently strolling by when you had half a soapy window. It's a vulnerable position to be in because there's nothing you can do to avoid anyone you'd rather not see, without making it obvious that you're avoiding them.

Many of the pricks that had turned me down for a job, during the two weeks I spent trying to pull myself off the streets, had strolled past as I'd been cleaning those windows. Some hadn't recognized me but most of them had, and all I could do was smile at them through gritted teeth and sometimes let a finger fly behind their backs once they were turned.

Even as I'm writing this now, I can't help but shake my head at the thought of how I was treated after being dumped off in Castle Rock. That asshole of a sheriff and his dizzy secretary scoffed at my story when I told them I'd woken up in a barn, an open gash across the back of my head and didn't know how I got there. I'm still sure they thought I was delirious on drugs. How desperate does a person have to look before they can get some fucking help? My filthy, draggy clothes obviously didn't make me look desperate enough because they threw me out, forcing me to cope on the streets.

After a few days at rock-bottom I figured the only way to go was up, so I started looking for a job. Yeah, OK. So I can kinda understand why no one wanted to hire a smelly, unkempt street kid. But no one wanted to _help_ me either. Until… I wandered into the Blue Point diner. Rose and Violet were the only ones who came to my aid. They rescued me and became like my surrogate grandmothers, and now I'm forever in their debt. But everyone else in the town… could kiss my grubby ass.

Anyway, on this particular day, one week after my 'friendly' meeting with the guys in the alleyway, it was the opposite experience. There I was, half way through the job, when I saw Chris and a friend about a block away walking in my direction. He didn't see me at first, but when he eventually noticed me watching them he paused in his stride and mumbled something to his friend. _"Too late, she's seen me now" _is what I'm sure he mumbled next before he continued with much slower, smaller strides. Too late for them to turn around without making it obvious that he didn't want to bump into me.

I'd run that scene in the alleyway through my head so many times, analyzing and speculating what was really going on. The obvious fact was that Chris had found out something that he wasn't supposed to know about, but there were a billion possibilities on what that could be.

I half expected Chris to acknowledge me and then keep on walking, avoiding any conversation. But to my surprise he did decide stop when he reached me. His nose looked fine now, but his temple and cheek still showed the yellowness of a healing bruise.

"How are you Chris?" I asked, failing to come up with a better question for an ice-breaker.

"I'm fine," he nodded, pursing his lips together which made his cheeks dimple.

"I looked everywhere for you the other day when those guys finally let me leave, but I couldn't find you. I just wanted to make sure you were OK. I mean, Ace wasn't going lightly on you…"

Chris gave a slender, sarcastic laugh and said, "Yeah, he was." I could see the memories of the more stricken scenes of his past flash though his mind.

"Well, at least you're OK now…"

"Yeah, well we're gonna meet up with a couple of the other guys so…"

"Have you eaten?" I asked, touching his shoulder as he moved to leave.

I didn't know why at the time, but I had this compelling urge to get to know him. Maybe I admired the courage he'd showed through the whole ordeal of being repeatedly punched in the side of the head by Ace's right-hook. But then again, maybe I felt an urge to protect him.

"Come on guys," I said, trying on a convincing grin. "My shout."

Chris stared thoughtfully down the road, weighing up his options, while his friend inched his way backwards, hinting at Chris to ditch. I was puzzled about why they were acting so standoffish towards me. I hadn't done anything wrong… had I?

The friend's face suddenly bore a look of surprise as Chris decided to take a chance on me; he gave me an untrusting nod and made his way into the diner.

"You're welcome too…" I said, holding the door open wide for his friend.

Seeing no way out of it, he kept silent and reluctantly tagged along at Chris's tail.

We settled into a booth near the front counter so I could keep serving customers as they came in. Chris introduced his friend as Gordie who seemed quite shy and reserved at first, but as the hour wore on he started to open up and come out of his shell a little.

Gordie's a skinny, lanky kid with big, brown, intelligent eyes that'll never lie to you, but not always tell you what they're really thinking either. He's not deceitful at all, but just… withdrawn. After his brother had been killed in a Jeep accident a few years earlier, Chris was really the only thing Gordie had left to cling to in this world. His parents had never gotten over losing their eldest son, especially since he was an aspiring athlete and meant for much greater things than they had ever expected of their youngest. Gordie has talent though, whether his parents want to admit it or not. I've heard a couple of the stories he's written and I envy his creative abilities.

Chris comes from a larger family of six children: five boys and one girl who was only two years old at the time. I always used to wonder who was looking after the younger ones when Chris's mother was God knows where, his father was on a bender and Eyeball was out with his mates. It was clearly a terrible situation, and I know I'm just as guilty as anyone for turning a blind eye to it, but I had quickly learnt (just like everyone else in town) that you don't meddle in the Chambers family's affairs. Besides, I couldn't just turn up at Chris's house, a complete stranger, and try to sort out their issues; that'd be insane. No, I couldn't help the kids, but I felt I could help Chris… if I could figure out what was bugging him so much, that is.

As the boys began to open up to me more I heard random stories of their lives and began to piece together how great a friendship the two had. They seemed inseparable. It was as if the world had dumped each of them in a huge sea of shit, and the only way they managed to keep afloat for so long was by keeping a tight hold of each other. I envy their friendship; I never had anyone like that growing up.

After listening intently, I felt it was only right that I should tell them my story, since they had found the courage to confide in me. They were wowed by it. They'd never met anyone with amnesia before.

After spending just under an hour with them I started feeling guilty for slacking off work for so long and told them I needed to get moving. As we walked down the aisle of the diner towards the front door, Gordie stepped out, but Chris unexpectedly stopped short. He slowly turned around to me, and after a quick sharp breath, he let out some advice which I think he'd been digging to find the courage to say all afternoon.

"Look, you don't wanna get involved with those guys OK?"

"What are you talking about? What guys?"

"That day in the alleyway, when I left, I didn't really leave. I mean, I couldn't just leave you alone with them, so I went around the other side of the fence to keep watch." His eyes then glanced away like he suddenly found it difficult to look at me. "I saw the way you were lookin' at him. And trust me, you don't wanna go there."

"The way I was looking at him?" I said, feeling my eyebrows raise an inch. "You mean, you think I'm interested in that asshole? Look what he did to you!" A few stares from customers in the diner had me apologizing to the room, before grabbing Chris by the arm and hauling him outside.

"I know what I saw," he said irrefutably.

"Is that why you didn't wanna talk to me? You think I'm one of them?"

"You seem like a good person Cass. And if I were you, I'd take my advice and forget him. Like I said, you don't wanna go there."

* * *

The tension left at the scene that day had been so tight I doubted Chris would ever want to talk to me again. His mind seemed made up - I was destined to be paired up with his nemesis and was too susceptible to avoid it. But he did return. In fact he returned almost every day for the next two weeks. Sometimes he'd bring Gordie with him, but most of the time he'd come alone. A lot of the time it was during school hours, and I'm sure it was because he couldn't bear to face that bitch of a math's teacher he had and he was using the diner as a hideout.

But I didn't care. He was the only friend I had in town. He was the only friend I had at all. There's only so much you can have in common with a pair of eighty year olds and Chris's company broke the monotony for me, more than he realized.

He confided in me one day, telling me a story about how eight months earlier he and his friends had taken a two day trip into the woods to find the body of a kid who had supposedly been hit by a train. They'd been tipped off by their friend Vern's brother Billy, who'd made the trip to retrieve the body on the same day as the boys. Billy didn't go alone though; he took Ace and Eyeball and a few other friends of theirs, and in the end there was a confrontation between them all as to who _owned_ the dead kid.

He didn't give too much detail, but said that in the end he and his friends had stood up to the older guys, making them leave empty handed. Their courage didn't come without a price though. After they returned to town, Eyeball broke Chris's arm in two places and Gordie got it pretty bad too when Ace and his mate "Fuzzy" bashed him up on the sidewalk, breaking his nose and two fingers. I was sworn to secrecy about that… and now I realize I've just written it all down… hmmm… oh well. No one's ever gonna read this anyway.

I know why Chris confided in me with that story though – he wanted to make me see sense. He wanted to warn me away from them. Chris has such a strong sense of intelligence and strength about him that sometimes you feel like you're talking to a wise old man. I didn't believe him when he predicted I was about to run into trouble, but he saw straight through me. He knew me better than I knew myself.


	4. Chapter 3: Discovered

**Discovered**

* * *

After four months of living in Castle Rock, life finally began to feel settled. The drama free days were ticking over nicely and I began to feel a sense of normality for once in forever. Chris and I had quite a unique friendship building. He was really starting to open up to me and even reached out for advice, and I guess I did to him too. Jesus, I even told him about my mother… I didn't think I'd ever tell anyone about her. I mean, I loved my mother – hell, she was my mother. But, in all honesty… she should have been a permanent resident at Togus.

My father was a pilot and died in a plane crash when I was really young and she just never stopped mourning. She missed him so much for so many years, that I guess she just drove herself crazy… literally. She went from anxiety disorders, to mental illness, to eventual suicide. Yeah… and guess who found her. Me. But as I trudged on through life, my mother growing sicker and sicker, I felt nothing but shame and embarrassment. I'd never bring friends home – fuck that… and eventually, I found myself pushing people away. So for me to open up old wounds like that to Chris, just shows how comfortable he made me feel around him. After all these years I finally had someone I could confide in.

It was after one of those heart to heart sessions between Chris and I that life suddenly got a whole lot more complicated. About a minute after Chris left, as I began routinely shutting up shop for the day, a movement from outside caught my eye. Someone was straining to peer in through the thick net curtains that hung in the front windows, and it took me a few moments to realize… it was Eyeball. I immediately ducked down behind the counter, praying he hadn't seen me. He'd obviously seen Chris leave and had snooped in to see what he'd been doing in there.

Every time Chris had visited me I'd been consciously aware that Ace had told me to stay away from him. I didn't really give a shit what he said, I mean, who was he to tell me what to do? But at the same time, I just couldn't suppress the feeling that I'd be in trouble if Ace found out. He didn't scare me (much), but I knew that being on his bad side meant nothing but problems and I was keen to avoid any more confrontations with him.

After a few seconds I nervously peeked out from my hiding spot and Eyeball had vanished. God, I hoped he hadn't seen me. I started to rush the cleaning so I could get it over with and get out of there, but it seemed luck just wasn't on my side that day. No more than a few minutes later the diner door hastily swung open, making me jump in shock. Then in wandered Eyeball, casual as a clam, with a smug look on his face like he'd just got one over on me. He seated himself in the booth nearest the door and stared silently at me, clearly pleased with himself.

_Why didn't you fucking lock it?_ I cursed myself.

But it was only Eyeball. After hearing plenty of Chris's stories, I was quietly confident I could handle _him_. So I plucked up the nerve and made my way down the aisle to confront him when… the diner door suddenly burst open again, making my heart leap into my throat.

And in strode Ace.

I froze mid-step, my stomach rapidly twisting into knots. "Fuck," I mumbled under my breath.

The door slammed closed behind him and he stood boldly in the doorway, his face blank and unreadable; a poker face. There was no doubt in my mind that he knew I'd disobeyed him and I had an uncomfortable inkling that I might not come off so well this time around.

My stomach wrenched nervously as I pushed myself forwards, forcing myself to show no intimidation again, exactly as I'd done in the alleyway. But that's just the thing… I wasn't all that fearful of him, yet my gut was warping so severely, it felt like violent torture. Then I noticed the cold sweat that had blanketed over me and that pissed me right off. I was never this out of control! _What the fuck is wrong with you?_ I swore at myself.

I internally slapped myself across the face then irritably busted down the aisle, coming right up to him, staring him over with contempt. "What do you want?" I blurted out in the sourest voice I could vent.

"Is that how you talk to all of your customers?" Eyeball pouted from the booth beside us.

"We're closing up actually."

"Well, the sign says you close at five. And it's only 4.45," Eyeball mocked, lobbing a thumb behind him at the front window.

"Diner closes when _I_ say, and _I_ say it's closed."

Ace slowly stepped forward towards the booth, his unpredictable stare fixated on mine, passing so closely by me that he brushed my shirt. Eyeball slid along the seat of the booth a few inches and Ace leisurely parked himself next to him, still without a word.

He was trying to intimidate me, I know… and I felt fear like never before. But it wasn't because I was afraid of what he might do me. Chris's voice emerged into the back of my mind. _"I saw the way you were lookin' at him."_ But was I? Did I? Seeing him again now, inches away… _Oh God…_

Despite all that had been going on that day in the alley, it was hard for me not to notice those cunning, pale blue eyes that spoke danger, solid shoulders, big hands – I'd always been a sucker for the bad boys. But the injustice and senselessness of the way he'd beat up on Chris that day offended every sense of my being and because of that, I kept myself in denial. And after hearing Chris's words of wisdom echo through my mind again… in denial I would try to stay.

"Well, I know you're not in here to eat, so what do you want?" I asked.

"Why all the hostility? We just wanna talk," said Ace, with a smile that not even a naive nun would trust.

I slowly took the seat on the opposite side of the booth and prepared myself to lay it out to them once again as I did in the alley.

"Come on guys, don't pussy foot around. I know you're not in here to make chit-chat over coffee. You saw Chris leaving here and for some reason you _really_ have a problem with me being around him. I'm guessing he knows something he shouldn't – actually, that's kinda obvious. But why are you hounding _me_? Aren't you worried he could tell anyone?"

Ace and Eyeball gave each other an awkward glance and I got the feeling I wasn't too far wrong.

"Cos no one else will believe him. Him or his little faggot friends," Ace vented, his hate for Chris pulsating through his voice. "He's got nothing good about his reputation 'round here. But you don't know shit about that, do you? And you don't know what'll happen to you if go open your big mouth about it to anyone else. So we're here to make sure you know exactly what'll happen."

"Oh yeah? Well, just so you know, you don't scare me. So you may as well just drag your paranoid asses right back out the door."

"Just tell me one thing, Cassie," Ace said, glancing down at my chest. "How long you been in town?"

I lowered my eyes down to my chest, and there was my name clearly displayed on my tag.

"A few months," I said, ripping it off.

"Oh yeah? How many months exactly?"

"What difference does it make?"

"You didn't happen to have been dropped into town by a couple of guys in a Studebaker did you?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" I said, feeling a little on edge after being caught off guard.

"So it was you then. Bit strange you walking out there all alone, so far from anywhere ain't it?"

Here was I calling _him_ paranoid, but he had the upper hand – he was about to deliver me to Togus in a straitjacket.

"There's a farmhouse a few miles back from where Vince picked you up." He then lent forward towards me, eyes wide and his face beaming. "I think you know which one I mean. I heard the guy who lives there had his place trashed and some stuff stolen."

My mind began to race with worry and I suddenly felt nauseous, but I tried my best not to show it. "No idea what you're talking about."

He stared firmly into my eyes as if he could see straight through them and was watching the memories play through my head. "I think you do."

The cunning bastard had me a good one.

* * *

Four months earlier I'd woken in this shitty old tractor shed out in the middle of nowhere, and I had no idea how I'd gotten there. There I was, barely even conscious, with my eyes rolling pathetically back into my head, a splitting headache and my hair mattered in blood. There's no way of telling how long I had been lying there for. Days probably. It was the middle of winter, and I was frozen to the bone and starving like I hadn't eaten in forever.

With some deep inner willpower I managed to climb to my feet and slog my way out the door towards the only other sign of civilization for miles – this old rundown farmhouse at the top of the stony driveway that ran past the shed. I was sure that once the owners saw me in that condition they'd take me in and offer me a meal… surely. So I staggered for what seemed like a thousand miles up the stony driveway, and then with the thought of tender chicken melting in my mouth, I rapped hard on the door. But there was no answer, no movement within the house, nothing.

"Hey, anyone home?!" I yelled up to one of the second floor windows.

It was at this point that desperation really started to kick in. _I'm gonna die,_ I thought to myself bitterly as my stomach wrenched in pain. My mind began to marvel at the thought of what would lie behind that door. Fresh fruit, vegetables, meat... It seemed so unfair that all that stood between me and the food was a door. Just a plain, blue wooden door was preventing me from getting what I so desperately needed. And the more I stared at it, the more I wished I was on the other side of it.

With my mind in a mess, I began trying to kick the door in. They were weak and petty attempts, but I was determined to get through it somehow. With no key under the door mat and no axe to be found, my eyes turned down to the lock. I'd never picked a lock before, but I knew you needed wire so I searched around the yard and found a long piece of thick metal wire lying in the gravel.

With no clue what I was doing, I inserted the wire, then poked around within the lock to gain a mental picture of what it might look like on the inside. During my poking, I felt something lift within the lock. "Surely it's not that easy," I gaped, hoping like hell it would be. The wire was strong but bendable, so I created a small bump in it, hoping like hell that this would work. I reinserted the wire into the door, lifted the lock, shifted it to the left and... bingo.

My first stop was the fridge. I yanked the door open and pulled out the first thing I laid eyes on. A jar of pickles. No time to waste on browsing. It didn't take me long to find out that I didn't like pickles but that didn't stop me from demolishing the contents of the entire jar. Next was the tomatoes, then the potato salad, and then, after moving a few other jars out of the way, I spied it. Ham.

It did occur to me that I was stealing, but I didn't care. They weren't the ones who were suffering. A moment of satisfaction soon came as I sat slumped on the floor next to the wide open fridge door, holding my stomach as if it would help the food to process. But it was only for a moment. My mouth suddenly began to fill with stomach acid and I raced to the sink only to empty the entire contents of my belly into it. Carefully chewed bits of food blocked the sink and I almost vomited again after accidently taking a whiff of it.

I felt sick and disgusted with myself for being so blinded to the fact – the fridge had no power running to it. The pickles probably would have been alright, but the ham… definitely off. Not only that, but there was no hot water either. Someone had shut off the power.

After a cold bath, a search for clean clothes and another attempt at eating (out of the pantry this time), I lay on one of the beds, huddled in what felt like a duck-down duvet, to warm up and reflect on what in fuck just happened. The last thing I'd remembered was my mother's funeral. But what happened after that? My mind drew a blank.

Three days passed as I stayed in the farm house to recuperate. I didn't sleep in the house of course - what if they'd come home only to find their kitchen in chaos and goldilocks upstairs innocently sleeping? Not that I had golden locks. More like straight brunette. When I awoke after my first night in the house I found a full length wall mirror in one of the other bedrooms. The girl in the reflection that looked back at me was a lot different to what I remembered. I could still recognize each feature, but my face looked skinny and pale. Gaunt even.

The thought that I couldn't stay here forever entered my mind, but I kept kicking it out again just as quickly as it came in. I mean logically, anyone else would've come to the conclusion that you have to live somewhere. And somebody, somewhere must be looking for you. But I knew that for me, that wouldn't be the case. My mother was the only person I had, and she'd left me.

On the morning of day four, I was forced to face my fears. Bits of flying gravel sprayed the corrugated walls of my farm shed, waking me up with a loud shock. I peered through a crack in the doorway to see a car hoofing it up the driveway towards the house.

"Well, that's that then," I said, with mixed emotions. Sad that I couldn't return to the house, relieved that I didn't get caught, but mostly scared. I had nowhere to sleep, no money, just the small amount of stolen food I'd kept with me, and my clothes. That was all I had to my name.

* * *

_Fuck, fuck, fuck,_ sprinted a few circular laps in my head, and I'm sure Ace saw _that_.

"Oh, don't worry, your secret's safe with us," he said casually. "Unless of course… you decide not to stick to our agreement."

"And what _agreement_ might that be?"

"Keep your nose to yourself and your mouth shut, and we won't have a problem. And stay the fuck away from Chris."

"I don't think we'll have a problem," I said, swallowing my pride down in one big, hard lump.

"Good girl," he said, finally seeming satisfied with me.

But _I_ sure wasn't satisfied. My blood boiled. _Domineering asshole… how dare he think he can control me like this? _ I begged myself to stay calm, begged myself to let it go, to let them have the last say and to let them leave. _Bite your tongue Cass… stay in control._

But my dignity was not something I could let go of so easily. Letting them leave thinking they had so much as an inch of authority over me was just too much to ask.

"Because I really don't give a rats ass what petty bullshit you've been up to," I blurted out. "When I came into this town I had nothing. I'm just trying to make a new start here which hasn't been easy thanks to all the tossers in this town. And I don't need you assholes wasting my time. Now get the fuck out of my diner."

Ace's satisfied stare suddenly snapped. His eyes turned vacant like a mad man who'd just lost his mind to insanity. His hollow gaze fixated itself on me, making me regret every word. Confident and in control Cass had left the building... now I was shitting my pants. My sweat-soaked back was hard-pressed up against the leather booth as I anticipated the moment of him reaching over the table, grabbing me and beating me just like he had Chris. Reasoning with him now seemed impossible – it was time to get the hell out of there.

Then a hand touched Ace's shoulder and we both snapped out of the other world we'd momentarily been living in. I'd been so immersed in Ace that I'd forgotten Eyeball was even there.

"Ace, come on man," said Eyeball delicately.

Ace abruptly stood and towered over me, looking down on me like he was ready to squash me like a bug. He wasn't used to being talked to like that by anyone, let alone a girl. "I'll be keeping a close eye on you, Cassie. So don't let that feisty attitude of yours make you do anything stupid."

There was no backchat from me this time… I'd just learnt my first valuable lesson.


	5. Chapter 4: The Chambers Kid

**The Chambers Kid**

* * *

Late afternoons were always a slow time of the day in the diner. After the lunchtime rush you'd get a few people coming in here and there for an afternoon snack, but the business would quickly dwindle away. That'd leave me alone wiping tables and mopping floors, while Rose and Violet took their nana naps in their house across the way, out the back. It was during these quiet, sleepy hours that I'd expect Chris to wander in off the street, stroll up the aisle towards me and plop himself down in the booth near the counter, as he did so often.

His mood was always easy to read, because in his world the difference between having a 'good day' and having a 'bad day' were poles apart. A good day was when he'd been able to sneak out of the house in the morning, avoiding harsh put-downs from his father, managed to keep a low profile at school and around town, and then hung out with his witty and never-dull buddies after school. A good day meant that his life felt carefree. When he came to visit me on those days he'd cheerfully sail in, his head slightly bobbing from side-to-side and his big blues smiling up at me with enthusiasm.

The day after my antagonizing encounter with Ace and Eyeball, Chris wandered in - just as I had expected - but after once glance I could tell this was unmistakably a 'bad day'. He ambled in, his big blues staring up at me sullenly under heavy eyebrows, and slouched himself into the booth near the counter, slumping his head in his hands.

"Bad day at the office?" I asked, a poor attempt at making light of the situation.

He slunk his head further down, resting it on his arms and then began lightly thumping it on the table.

"Does this have anything to do with Ace and your brother showing up in here yesterday?"

"What? They were in here?" he asked, his head promptly popping up again.

"Yeah. And whatever it is you know about, do me a favor and don't tell me OK? I don't wanna know."

"It's nothing to do with that," he sighed, his head slumping back down into his arms.

"Then what is it?"

"I'm sick of flunking out of school all the time. Sick of those asshole teachers thinking I've got shit for brains. So I thought, _"I'll show them for once"_. So I got Gordie to teach me some stuff and we studied really hard together, you know?"

"So what happened?" I eagerly took the seat opposite him, anxious to hear.

"I got an A."

My eyebrows rose at least two inches in surprise. "Way to go!" I said, enthusiastically slapping him on the arm. "So… then what's the matter?" I asked, my eyebrows lowering again.

"They wouldn't give it to me. They reckoned I cheated."

"What? That's ridiculous though! You didn't cheat did you?"

"No way! I understood the topic. I fuckin' studied hard for that test, and what do I get? An F. I get a fucking F!"

"So why do they think you cheated, Chris? Why?"

"Why? Cos it's me."

Hate flowed through me in waves. The injustice to Chris, this kid who'd had such a dramatic effect on my soul in the short few weeks I'd known him, tore me up inside. What that teacher had done was appalling, despicable, disgusting. And it was at that moment that Ace's words from the day before suddenly made some kind of sickening sense. _"He's got nothing good about his reputation around here"._ It didn't matter what Chris did in this town, didn't matter if he was a good person, didn't matter if he tried for good grades. He'd always be labeled as "The Chambers Kid". Nothing but the no-good kid brother to Frank and Eyeball Chambers.

I wanted to get through to Chris that his life wouldn't be like this forever, and that things would get better eventually. And that one day he wouldn't feel so unimportant and helpless, and life as he knows it would seem like a distant memory. But that advice sounded so hollow and hopeless. No amount of words could make this kid's life any better in the short term. And I feared that if assholes in this town kept trying to drag him under like this, he'd eventually drown.

And that's when a dramatically terrifying idea arose into my head. Chris's father didn't give a shit about him, nor did his mother or his brother. His friends loved him like a brother, but they themselves were too young and helpless to have any kind of influence over anything. But I thought maybe… just maybe… I could.

"Chris, what's your teacher's name?"

* * *

The lobby of the reception area felt dark, dank and empty as I stood at the front desk, waiting for the school secretary to return from her lunch. It was the day after I'd spoken to Chris about his test, and I'd spent the entire previous night lying awake, running scenarios through my head, and trying to build up the courage to go in there and do this crazy thing. I couldn't find courage in the end, so I had to completely blank my mind and trick myself into walking, one nervous step after the other, towards his school. I was only 18 myself, not exactly an authority figure over these teachers… and I bet if they could've had their way, they would've thrown _me_ back in school.

The secretary finally strolled in, clearly showing her lack of enthusiasm for her job. She slumped behind the desk into her tattered leather chair and ignored me as she began stamping envelopes.

"Ah excuse me," I said softly, trying not to start a confrontation before I'd even seen the teacher.

"Yeah?" she replied, looking up at me with an '_I don't have all day'_ expression on her face.

"I'm looking for Ms. Anderson. I was hoping to speak with her."

"You a student?"

"No."

"You a parent?"

"No." _Geez, do I look like a parent?_

"Ok," she said, handing me a little clipboard and a pen. "Fill this in and I'll make you an appointment."

"I just need to speak with her for five minutes."

"Fine, I'll make your appointment for five minutes then."

"What? No… I just need to speak to Ms. Anderson!" I said, suddenly becoming frustrated with this obstructive bitch.

"I'm Ms. Anderson," came a very prim voice from behind me.

I swung around to conveniently see Chris's teacher standing tall behind me, heels together, nose in the air. She looked around age 40 and wore a very fitting grey suit, cat-eye spectacles and bright-red lipstick that looked way over done – I felt an urge to tell her that you're not supposed to use the entire stick in one go.

"Ms. Anderson? My name is Cassandra O'Connor and I'd like to talk to you regarding one of your students."

"Which student exactly?"

"Chris Chambers."

"And are you… related to Christopher in any way?"

"No, I'm…"

"Then we have nothing to discuss," she said slyly, turning to totter off down the hallway.

She knew exactly why I wanted to talk to her; I could see it written all over the smug bitch's face. But I wasn't about to back out this early. If she thought I was one to go down without a fight, she was about to be unpleasantly surprised.

"Why did you accuse Chris of cheating?" I shouted at her down the hall.

She abruptly stopped, spun around and then tottered back to me. Maybe she did want to have this conversation after all. "Because Chris cheated."

"No he didn't. I can prove it."

"Huh huh ha! And how do you expect to do that dear girl?" she laughed, fluttering her fake eyelashes. "Do you know the Chambers family? Do you know that the eldest of the brothers is in prison and do you know what for? Do you know that his brother Richard flunked out of school before he even learned to read properly? And do you know what?" she then leaned very closely towards me and I shuddered from the cold draft of her whisper. "Your little friend will go exactly the same way."

"No. He won't," I said boldly, determined not to let her get the better of me.

"Oh really? So, I guess you also don't know that he's stolen from the school."

"Oh yeah? Well you're stealing from him." I whispered just as coldly at her.

There was nothing left to say to Ms. Anderson. She'd basically admitted what she'd done and made it clear that she wouldn't be changing her mind. Time for plan B.

I gave her the evil-eyes, then briskly turned my back and headed straight for the reception desk. The secretary swiftly sat back down, acting as if she'd been minding her own business the whole time, and put the '_I don't give a shit'_ expression back on her face.

"Where's the Principals office?" I asked hastily, no longer caring about preventing an argument.

She smirked slightly and handed me back the little clipboard and pen. "Please fill…" she started. I bit my tongue and then wildly threw my hands in the air at her before furiously rushing off to search the nearby halls for the Principal's office.

Ms. Anderson suddenly realized my intentions and hurried along behind me nagging, "You can't walk through here without an appointment!" That just told me I was headed in the right direction.

With a line of students sitting outside, the Principals office wasn't too hard to miss. I ignored them all and barged into the office without even bothering to knock. The stunned Principal hastily took his outstretched feet off his desk and pulled himself together, throwing the dirty magazine he'd been reading into the nearest draw.

"I tried to stop her!" yelled Ms. Anderson in her defense, bursting through the door behind me.

"You can't just barge in here in like that!" the Principal bellowed, seeming more embarrassed than angry.

"I had to!" I bellowed back. Then I took a breath to calm down to prevent myself from losing it and achieving nothing. "One of your teachers has accused a student – a very hard working student, who tried hard to get good grades on a test yesterday – of cheating. And I can prove to you that he didn't cheat."

The Principal calmed somewhat and appeared to take me seriously. "That's a very serious allegation. Which teacher are you accusing?"

"She's accusing me Mr. Smith," Ms. Anderson interrupted. "But you won't hear a word of this nonsense now will you?"

"Are you a student here?" asked Mr. Smith. "I don't recognize you."

"No, I'm just a friend of Chris's. And I want to see him get the marks he's earned. Not the ones your incompetent teachers think he deserves."

"Chris? You mean the Chambers kid? What mark do you _think_ he's earned?"

"He achieved an A."

Mr. Smith gave me a disbelieving smile and laughed. "You think that kid got an A? Get out of my office, you're wasting my time."

"No! Not until you let him re-sit the test!"

"What's this?"

"I can prove… he can prove he didn't cheat. You sit him somewhere, alone in a room, no books – just a new test and a pen, and I guarantee you he won't fail… no, I guarantee you he'll get an A."

As he pondered over my suggestion, his eyes rolled over to Ms. Anderson who looked incredibly worried that he might let me have my way. Meanwhile, I was working through the list of his superiors in my head that I could use to threaten him with if he turned me down. But luckily for him, he gave in.

"Fine," he said, brushing it off. "Ms. Anderson, write Chris a new test. And make sure it's fair!" He said, turning the daggers on her.

"Oh… of course Mr. Smith," she replied.

* * *

Two hours later, as I stood in the kitchen of the diner cleaning the giant soup pot, a smile spread across my face as I thought about what I'd just accomplished. I think for the first time ever in my life, I'd been heard. The happiness couldn't wait to burst out of me, but at the same time my nerves ran deep. I'd promised them another A from Chris… and now I had to make sure he'd deliver it… again. If he didn't, it was sure to only make his situation worse.

Just after 3pm I heard the diner door close, and moments later Chris poked his head through the doorway into the back kitchen.

"So what happened?" he asked eagerly.

"Well, you've got your chance," I told him firmly. "They've agreed to let you re-sit the test."

"Seriously?" he asked in disbelief.

"It wasn't easy, that's for sure. But, you got it."

He beamed graciously at me with his sweaty hand cupped behind his head, as he realized I wasn't kidding around. "Shit Cass... thanks. You don't know what this means to me."

"Yeah, I think I do. And you do realize that this could mean a second chance for you, right? So once you pass this with flying colors – which I _know_ you will – you've gotta keep your nose in the books Chris. If you want a good reputation at school, you've gotta stop wagging and start knuckling down. I know Ace keeps threatening me to keep you away, but fuck him. If you need a place to study, you can come here OK? You and Gordie."

"Yeah… OK," he said with a glowing grin on his face. "Well, I guess I better go study then."

"Hey," I said, grabbing him by the shoulder as he moved to leave. "You're a good kid Chris. A really good kid. And if people are too ignorant to see that, then let that be their loss and not yours. OK?"

He nodded to show he understood.

"Now go show those bastards what you can do."


	6. Chapter 5: Rain

**Rain**

* * *

Getting to work in the four months I lived with Rose and Violet was more than convenient. They had a house out the back of the Blue Point Diner, just through the gate across the back alleyway, so we had a ten second walk to work and back – very convenient. Then one day, I caught wind that Violet was thinking of selling her old place, where she used to live before her husband died, and the idea popped into my head that maybe I should offer to rent it. The house had been vacant for six months and was still fully furnished, which was kinda eerie in way… but I thought I could help to breathe some life back into the place.

My surrogate grandmothers, as I liked to call them, had helped me on my feet and that was as much as I was willing to ask from them. Because really, they weren't my grandmothers. They were just two extremely kind and generous old ladies who opened up their home and their hearts to me. And although I was paying my way, I didn't want to move in on them permanently and burden them. I'd still work for them, they insisted on that, but I just wanted to give them some space… and I guess, to be honest… I was looking forward having a little space of my own.

After the move, (consisting of a single suitcase) that convenient 'scoot across the alley' became a two mile journey each way. The walk isn't bad when the morning air is clean and crisp or the afternoon is sunny and warm. But, although the weather had been beautiful that spring, that's not what I got to enjoy on the very first day I had to walk it.

The morning _had_ been OK, so I did get to enjoy that much. But in the late afternoon the wind picked up and the sky darkened, threatening heavy rain. So, I finished up at the diner early and hoped to beat it home. I didn't bother to ask for an umbrella because the wind was so gusty that I would've been battling to keep the thing from blowing inside-out the whole way.

I started off at a light jog, running into the wind, and keeping a close eye on the clouds. But after half a mile the first fat drop splattered on my cheek and then blew off with the wind. Seconds later, I felt another fat splat right on my forehead, and then another and another until they started coming thick and steady. I tried to trick myself into thinking that it wasn't so bad, and that if I kept it up I'd still have a chance of beating the worst of it. But as the steady trickle became a surging torrent, I wasn't fooling anyone.

I kept up my pace, my head down and my feet pounding the pavement through the puddles. My clothes were becoming more and more saturated by the second and my bare arms felt like cold, wet fish to touch. Just as my ears began to sting with earache I noticed a jet black '52 Ford pickup truck speed past me and then suddenly slow down and stop just up ahead. I had little energy to care about it and kept my head down, jogging right past it.

"Hey!" shouted a familiar voice, extra powerful to combat the deafening, bombarding rain.

"Oh… please not now," I whined up to the clouds above, as the pickup drove alongside me. I didn't need to look over to know exactly who it was.

It had been a week and a half since Ace had tried to boss me around and I'd told him to _fuck off_. But I hadn't forgotten that vacant look in his eyes after I'd talked to him that way, and I was dreading bumping into him again… especially outside of safety. So, I didn't dare look over at him. I just prayed up to the big black clouds above that he'd give up and leave me alone.

"Wanna ride?" he shouted through the cab.

I ignored him and slowed down to a fast-paced walk. Running against the wind in waterlogged jeans, which stuck to my kneecaps like suction cups, was beginning to tire me out. I'd only done about half the journey and knew all too well that the next mile wouldn't get any easier.

"You're soaked! Come on, I'll give you a ride!"

"Bloody weather!" I cursed up to the sky, as if it would hear me, feel guilty and then suddenly ease up.

Ace quickly lost his patience and stretched over to the passenger's side to give the door a swift shove, swinging it wide open. "Cassie! Stop being such a stubborn bitch and get in the fuckin' truck!"

I shot a glance over to him, comfortably seated in his dry surroundings. _Bastard._ I knew I was about to give in. A flash of lightning suddenly lit up the sky, and two seconds later, out rang a clap of thunder. The weather had become too much to bear. After another couple of quick curses, I reluctantly dived for the open door and clambered inside.

Ace sat smugly in his corner, left arm draped over the wheel. "Weather took a turn for the worst today," he said coolly.

I didn't reply, just wound the window up and sat there sulking about how now, he'd probably think I was indebted to him for life.

"Where to?"

"Willow Street," I lied. Willow Street was adjacent to mine and I didn't mind running in the rain a little if it meant keeping him from knowing where I _really_ lived.

"Willow Street, huh?" he said, putting the clutch into gear.

We sat in silence for a while, with me refusing to look at him, but I could feel his eyes all over me.

"People don't talk to me the way you did the other day. You know why?" he asked.

"I'm sure I could throw in a few guesses," I mumbled grudgingly under my breath.

"Well I'll give you that one, since you're new around here. But if you ever talk to me like that again, I'll fuckin' floor you without thinking twice about it. Got it?"

"You sure? Cos, I reckon if you were gonna, you would've already," I said, unable to hold my tongue. It was a risky thing to say really, but at the same time, it did make some kinda sense. Maybe I was trying him, I don't know, but luckily for me he seemed to be in a forgiving mood.

"You're a cheeky little bitch aren't ya? Cheeky, stubborn, feisty…"

"Better that than timid, compliant, passive," I smirked, proud of my quick wit.

He gave a half-hearted grin and I pointed at a random house as we entered Willow Street. He pulled into the driveway and I opened the door of the pickup, ready to make my escape.

"Hold it," he said, stopping me dead. "So after all this getting to know each other, you still don't wanna tell me where you live?"

"Erm… what do you mean?" I asked, twisting back around to him.

"One of my buddies lives here. So, I'm guessing… _you_ don't."

I felt my cold face flush warm with embarrassment. _You've got to be kidding me!_ I cursed myself. _Why'd you have to pick that house?_

I could've said, _Yeah, so I don't wanna tell you where I live, so what?_ But it wouldn't have made much difference. If he really wanted to hunt me down he could've easily followed me. But anyway, back chatting again didn't even cross my mind. I was so humiliated for being caught out that I just succumbed and slammed the door closed. He'd won – this one…

"Fine, 36 Lurry Street."

He nodded with a cunning smile and drove around the corner into Lurry. He pulled up the driveway and turned off the ignition then sat staring at me, his face cracking into a sly laugh.

"What?" I demanded. "What's so funny?"

"You're gullible. That's what's funny."

"Aw, you shit," I groaned, suddenly realizing what he was on about. "You didn't really know who lived there did you?"

He shook his head with a self-satisfying grin.

"You fucking..." I said, back-handing him hard on the arm. There were so many choices of words to finish that sentence off with that I didn't manage to pick one. I thought I'd felt stupid before, but now I knew the true meaning of the word. But even so, I still couldn't help leak a small smile. I was annoyed at myself for being tricked so easily, but at the same time I admired him for pulling it off so smoothly.

"You'd should go inside and get dry," he said, firing the ignition again.

I clunked open the door to get out of the truck, but then turned back to him again, deciding I couldn't leave without having the final word. "Don't think I owe you one. And next time you see me walking home in the rain, don't offer me a ride, OK?"

"Whatever Cass," he called back, as I slammed the door closed.

I made a break for my front porch and stood undercover as he speedily backed down the drive before exploiting all the fresh slippery wetness he could, to do one massive long peel out the entire length of my road.


	7. Chapter 6: Uncovering Secrets

**Uncovering Secrets**

* * *

A long hot shower never feels as good as it does when you're frozen to the bone, does it? Physically, I was feeling extremely relaxed, with the warm water flowing over my thawing skin. My mind on the other hand, was frantic. _Why in hell would you give someone a ride that basically gives you the fingers every time you open your mouth?_ I stressed. _Wouldn't you just laugh and drive on by, maybe toss one out the window at them?_ The whole encounter seemed bizarre… like he was trying to get along or something, in his own arrogant kinda way.

But even so, I was still wary of him. It did make sense that if he really wanted to hurt me he would have done it by now; he'd had plenty of opportunities for that. But I still didn't want to take any chances. And the most worrying thing was that now he knew where I lived.

Just as I was pulling on a clean and dry pair of jeans, I was startled by someone banging forcefully on the front door. _Surely that's not..._

But who else would it have been? Chris didn't even know where I lived yet and the only other people I knew in town were Rose and Violet. No chance of it being them.

I cautiously wandered into the kitchen and could see Ace's outline through the patterned glass door. His forehead was pressed against it as he tried to peer inside.

"What do you want?" I called through the door.

He didn't answer and just rattled the door handle. I sighed, knowing I was about to give in… again.

"Fine," I said, unlocking the door and opening it a crack.

Without waiting for an invitation, he pushed the door open and strolled in carrying two wrapped roast dinner. "Hungry?"

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked, stunned by his nerve to bust in there like he owned the place.

"Bringing you dinner, what does it look like?"

"Why?"

"Fuck, are you hungry or not?"

I gave in and closed the door. "Yeah… I suppose," I pouted. I was actually starving and hadn't even thought about what to have yet. And those roast dinners sure smelt good.

He hunted through my cupboards for plates and cutlery, then went to the fridge and pulled the door open. "Don't you have beer?"

"Geez, you don't ask for much do you?"

He ignored that and pulled out the cold water instead as I began dishing up the meals. He then made himself at home at my breakfast bar and we ate in silence for a while as I tried to come up with the most tactful approach to asking him what was going on.

"So what are you doing here? I doubt you just wanted to be nice and buy me dinner." Yeah… there's some tact…

"Now, what makes you think I can't be a nice guy?"

"Just cut the shit. Tell me what you want."

"OK, fine. What you were doing at that farmhouse?"

"What is it with you and the fucking farmhouse?"

"It's my old man's place."

"Oh… seriously?" I felt my face flush again. That put me down a peg or two. "Um… sorry…"

"He said someone had been sleeping in the bed my grandma died in, the kitchen cupboards had been cleaned out and the place reeked of dog vomit. So what the fuck'd you been doing in there?"

"Ugh… someone died in that bed?" I'd only slept in it for a few hours on the first night, but the thought still made me feel slightly ill. "OK fine. This might sound crazy but..." I hesitated, but he urged me to continue. "You know that old tractor shed at the end of the driveway? A few months ago, I woke up in it and I had no idea… I still have no idea… how I got there. Not only that but I can't remember anything since my mother's funeral which was last year. I had this massive gash at the back of my head, I was freezing cold, exhausted, thirsty, hungry… smelly… so I went up to the farmhouse for help. But no one was there so I broke in and… just got comfortable I guess. Until they, you're old man, came home."

He watched me carefully, picking apart every word to test whether it sounded genuine. "So… you can't remember anything since last year? Are you tryin' to bullshit me?"

"Before waking up on that farm, yeah. Mind's a blank. Here, my head's healed now but you can still feel a dent." I turned my back to him and pulled my hair up and he curiously ran his fingers through it. "I don't know if I fell and whacked it on something, or what."

"Maybe you are telling the truth. After all, you are a pretty shit liar."

"For this, I got no reason to lie."

"Sounds like trauma," he said before sucking up his last piece of chicken.

"So… you believe me?"

"Happened to Eyeball's cousin. They reckon his old man used to beat him so bad every night that his brain just started to block the memories out. Reckons he doesn't remember anything before he was ten, which was when the mother finally decided to fuck off outta there with him. When you've seen some of the fucked up shit I've seen in my life, that sort of thing doesn't seem at all impossible."

That sentence stuck with me for a long, long time. He didn't say it like he was getting all macho, like he usually does. He said it like there were actually some touchy memories in that headstrong mind of his. And that was the moment when I began to see where he was coming from; I sorta began to realize why he is the way he is.

"Anyway, I guess I'll never know what happened," I said softly.

I glanced up at him and he was staring at me with a very curious frown. It almost felt like he actually gave a shit. "So what's your surname?"

"O'Connor. Why?"

He kept on staring thoughtfully at me and seemed a little distant.

"You don't actually care do you?" I asked, sarcastically.

"There's still one thing I don't get," he said, suddenly breaking out of his daze. "You said you broke in, but there were no windows smashed and all the doors were still locked."

"I um…"

"And where did you stay after Vince dropped you outside the garbage dump?"

"I… around…"

"That couple of weeks after Vince dropped you in, there was all sorts of talk goin' 'round that stuff was disappearing from stores at night. But the cops wouldn't do anythin' about it 'cos there was never any sign of a break in. Lazy bastards would rather think everyone was goin' crazy than get off their asses." He stared at me hard like he was trying to hear those '_Fuck, he's got me' _cries in my head again. I felt cornered. He knew he was right and I couldn't find a story to prove him wrong. "So you gonna tell me how you did it? You picked the locks didn't you?"

"How do you know all of this?" I whined, giving up.

"It just all makes sense," he shrugged.

"You're not gonna say anything to anyone are you?"

"So where'd you learn to that?"

"What? Pick locks? When I was alone and desperate on the streets, that's when. You gotta eat somehow. And I just figured, if I got caught and thrown in a cell, at least they'd have to feed me."

He grinned at that, then stood, ready to leave. I followed him to the door and then outside where the wind and rain were finally starting to subside.

"Oh, by the way," he said, suddenly turning back. "Next time you break into my old man's place, don't stop at robbing it, burn the shithole to the ground."


	8. Chapter 7: Missing Pieces

**Missing Pieces**

_This chapter has been extended_

* * *

The morning after Ace's 'interesting' visit was a Sunday and my only day off work for the week. I'd usually sleep 'till late morning, but that night I'd barely slept a wink, let alone slept in. I laid there staring wide-eyed into the darkness, a zillion thoughts running marathons through my mind, with this uncomfortable nervousness lurking within me.

Ace now knew with utmost certainly that I'd broken into those stores, and I should've been worrying about that more than anything else. But I wasn't. In fact, that was the last thing on my mind.

I'm a sucker for the bad boys, I know that. There's just something about them. It's that unpredictable, impulsive charm. No matter how much I try to deny it or ignore them, I always end up getting reeled in like a fish on a hook. Sucked in like a fly down a drain hole. None of my past relationships with guys like that ever ended well - either I'd get fed up with their macho bullshit or they'd get tired of my sharp, abrupt tongue. The problem was that I was slowly beginning to realize that I still hadn't learnt my lesson.

But even that didn't top number one on my worry list. The thing is, if I'm willing to lay myself on the line then I'm willing to pay the price – that's fine when it's just me. It's fine when it's only me I'm risking to hurt. I'll get over it… eventually. But this time, it wasn't like that at all. This time, my wager could come at a hefty price… Chris.

By 9am I still lay there with my mind buzzing, when I was suddenly jolted out of my trance by the distinctive purr of a V8 pulling up my driveway. "You're kidding me right?" I moaned, rolling out of bed. After throwing on the clothes nearest to my reach, I headed out to see what he wanted.

"Again?" I whined, swinging open the front door.

And again, without waiting for an invitation, Ace casually strolled in. "Get in the car. We're going for a drive," he said flatly.

"Erm… do I have a say in this?"

"If you had a say in it I wouldn't have bothered coming over, would I?"

So, after using the bathroom, I reluctantly went to meet him outside where he was leaning against this gray '49 Ford Custom convertible.

"Geez, how many cars do you own?" I asked, climbing in and clunking the heavy door closed. "So you gonna tell me where we're going?"

"Nope."

As he fired the ignition the powerful rumble of the V8 purred under the hood like a giant pussy cat, making my insides delve with pleasure. I've always loved the sound and the feel of a V8 engine. As we drove the streets I couldn't help but lay back grinning listlessly, ignoring whatever smell that was and feeling the sound move through me every time his foot touched the gas. But, I was so absorbed in the car that it didn't even occur to me that I was openly travelling in Ace's soft-top, with Ace in it, for all to see and know about. And by the time I realized, we were on the edge of town. Of course, there was only one person that I hoped like fuck hadn't seen me… or his friends.

Not long after we hit the main highway out of town, Ace suddenly veered off the road and down a long gravel driveway. Amongst the scrub and towering pines of the basin below stood this medium-sized, run down house with an ankle high deck that was so full of holes and gaps that you were sure to sprain an ankle. Away to the right, hidden in vines and scrub, sat a large wooden garage with fold out double doors, and on blocks out the front lazed the stripped down body of a 1940 Willys Coupe.

"Just gotta pick something up," Ace said, leaving the door ajar and rushing into his place.

It was kinda nice sitting out there for a moment with the warm morning sun shining down and the V8 quietly humming beneath me. The air and the ground still felt damp from the bad weather the night before, but the sky was blue and the day was sure to warm up fast.

Ace finally returned and threw a couple of six-packs on the bench seat between us.

"What are you doing? You're driving."

"So?" he shrugged. "I could drink all of these and still drive. You just sit there and watch me." He cracked open a can, chugged half of it back and let out a loud belch of satisfaction to rub it in my face. "You want one?"

"Are you kidding? It's not even 10 o'clock! But… maybe later."

"You'll be lucky if there's any left later," he smirked before taking another greedy mouthful.

We headed out again along the rural road and I had a feeling that it might've been the same way I'd come into town all those months ago, but I wasn't completely sure. All I remembered about the ride in was Vince brewing the whole way because I'd basically forced my way into his car.

* * *

There I was, trudging along the vacant highway for what seemed like hours, freezing cold, hungry and dehydrated, when I finally heard the distant hum of a vehicle coming up from behind. I stuck my thumb out, desperate to hitch a ride, when a blue Studebaker rode smoothly over the rise. I was expecting it to see me, slow down and stop… but, no. Instead the thing screamed past within a whisker of knocking me down, and threw a few dirty comments out the window. I raised both middle fingers up in the air while screaming out a few comments of my own.

As soon as they caught sight of that in the rear-view mirror, the breaks came on and the car screamed to a halt in a cloud of dust and smoke. Wasting no time with turning around, the guy changed to reverse and threw his foot down hard, backing wildly towards me. In a panic, thinking he was gonna run me down, I jumped into the gutter. The breaks slammed on late, making the car slide into the gravel on the edge of the road, and just stopped just short of bowling me. I stood there frozen, my mouth gaping open at the rear bumper that rested just touching my left leg. The driver climbed out of the car, all staunch and proudly smirking away to himself, clearly pleased with his skills.

"How long you been walkin' for?" he asked, cocky smirk on his face, strutting forward with his thumbs in his jean pockets.

"Not that long," I lied.

"Whatever," he laughed. "Go on, how long? Hours?"

"Fine." I said, giving in. "Yeah. Probably."

His eyebrows lowered with this ape-like sarcastic look on his face. "So ah, why would you treat someone… the only person within miles of here… with a car… who can help you… with so little respect?"

"Get over yourself you cocky shit," I said bluntly – OK, no I'm kidding I didn't' say that. It took every ounce of willpower in me to bite my tongue on that one. But who knew when the next car would be coming along? Truth was, I needed him. All I wanted was to get off that road.

But, before I could think of a more fitting answer, the other guy in the car called to the driver to get a move on. "Vince, will you hurry the fuck up? If she don't wanna ride just fuckin' leave her here."

I pursed my lips together to stop myself from ruining my chances. "You're offering me a ride?" I muttered grudgingly.

His eyebrows lowered again and he opened his mouth to say, well I'm sure he was about to say, "You wish, enjoy the walk." But before he could utter another word and leave me stranded, I pushed past him and made a dash for the open door. He tried to grab my arm to stop me but I slipped out of his grip, ducked into the car and scrambled over into the back seat. It was a two-door and, because there was no time to pull the front seat forward, I'd stood all over it leaving some lovely muddy shoeprints, just for him.

The guy on the passenger's side sniggered as Vince noticed it.

"What the fuck are you laughing at Char-_lie_?" he scowled, wiping the mud slop off with his hand.

* * *

"You're not goin' to sleep there I hope," Ace said, interrupting my thoughts.

"No, just feeling the pussy cat purr. That engine's a beauty."

"That's because _I_ tuned it."

"Oh, are you a mechanic or something?"

"Something like that. Hey, grab that in the back," he said, tilting his head back to motion over the seat.

Curious, I twisted around to the back, searching everywhere for something to grab.

"Grab what? There's nothing here but a baseball bat."

"Yeah, that's it."

"Taking me all the way out here to beat me to death?"

"No stupid, grab it."

I lugged the well-used hunk of wood over to the front and stared at it dumbly wondering what on earth he'd want it for.

"See these mailboxes coming up along here?" he pointed, beer in hand. "See how many you can knock off."

"What are you out of your mind?"

"Ten swings is all you get. And don't smash any. You get more than me and I'll tell you where we're going."

"What if someone sees?"

"Jesus, you sound like my grandmother having an anxiety attack. Have some fun for a change. You're always so fuckin' uptight. Just lean over the side and take a swing – you'll feel better. Trust me."

"You're insane you know that?" I laughed in disbelief, climbing up to kneel on the leather seat.

The overly chipped and dented bat weighed down in my hands as I held it out over the side of the car. Smashing things for the fun of it wasn't something I'd usually 'agree' to so easily – but… _uptight? Really? Come on…_

"Here they come, get ready," he said, the excitement building up in his voice.

Kneeling to lean out over the side alone had given me a tiny rush of exhilaration, but the best of it came just before I took the swing. I drew the bat back and then swung powerfully on an upward angle… probably a little too powerfully. Bat met tin and the mailbox flew some way in the air before coming crashing down hard on the road far behind us.

"Woohoo! That'a girl," he roared, leaning over to slap me hard on the backside. I nearly dropped the bat… He slurped up the last mouthful of his third and tossed it carelessly over the side before reaching for another. "Another nine's all you get."

A cunning and wild smile broke out as I suddenly grew this competitive urge to get the ten and beat him at his own game. But then I suddenly realized… if he's swinging, who's driving? Because I never learnt…

I swung for the next three and got those hits easily, not so hard this time, but I couldn't help apologizing out to the owners for each one. For my fifth shot, just as I drew the bat back to make the swing, Ace playfully veered the car away making me slouch over the side and droop the bat low.

"Hey!" I cried out. "That's fuckin' cheating!"

"My game, my rules," he said cunningly, taking another slurp.

"Oh yeah? Finding me a bit of a threat are ya?" I gave him the evils, then turned back to focus on my swings.

He let me have the next two easy and then for my eighth, just as I was pulling back to swing, he floored it. The force of the momentum made me lose my balance and I nearly lost the bat over the side of the car.

"Fuckin' cheater!" I screamed. In a rage, now even more determined to get the next one, I swung again with all the power I could without even thinking about what he'd said earlier. _Don't smash any_.

Well, I smashed it alright. Chips of wood flew high among papers and pamphlets, scattering in every direction, leaving the side of the road a complete and utter mess. "Sorry!" I yelled out. There'd be no gluing that one back together.

Ace then suddenly slowed down to a stop and I shouted out in protest. "Can't you fuckin' count? I've still got one left!"

"Bullshit! I said don't fuckin' smash any! That's it, end of your innings girl." He climbed out of the car and strolled around to the passenger's side. "Six, I'm sure I can beat a pathetic six."

"I wouldn't be so sure. I don't know how to drive…" I muttered.

"What do you mean you don't know? It's easy. Shove over, I'll show you."

It was a bizarre experience listening to Ace explain everything to me. He totally lost that arrogant attitude in that moment, going through everything patiently, becoming more enthusiastic as he diverged off onto a 'how the engine works' tangent. It was obvious that cars were his passion. And when I felt that pussycat purr under my foot, I thought they'd just become mine.

And as if Ace's temporary change in attitude wasn't bizarre enough, as soon as I'd been up through the gears and down again, it all came a little too easily to me. It was as if I did already know how to drive, but… I'd forgotten learning? That was weird…

He was good at that game, no mistake about it. Even with me trying to cheat him back by breaking or speeding up just before he took a swing, he still managed to get his ten and gloated about it the rest of the way.

When he finally took the car back in his hands I lay back again, feeling the cool wind brush over my skin and lazily admiring the greenery of the treetops against the vast clear blue skies. The smooth open road then turned to gravel as we slowed and pulled into a long, muddy driveway which had a small two-story house plopped at the end of it, in the middle of a bare open field.

We parked up in front and Ace told me to wait there. He scooted up the stairway, which ran along the side of the house up to the second floor, onto the huge deck that hung over the driveway. He pounded on the front door and a moment later a short brawny red-headed guy about our age moseyed out of the house, rubbing his eyes like he'd just woken up.

After an already bizarre morning things were about to get a whole lot more bizarre. They chatted for a moment and then peered over the end of the deck, down at me. The guy nodded and mumbled something else and then, that was it. Our visit was over.

"What was that all about?" I asked Ace inquisitively as he climbed back into the car.

"Just wait."

We continued travelling along the open road, but there wasn't much of it left before we hit what looked like a tiny pass-thorough, blink-and-you-miss-it town. The main street was anything but bustling, with only two stores open and the rest with closed signs hanging in the windows. There were a few folks loitering around but it felt so empty that it could've passed for a ghost town. I was almost expecting to see tumble weed come rolling by.

Two streets down, Ace pulled into the driveway of this single-storied, run-down house on a tiny section that badly needed the lawns mowed. He climbed out of the car and motioned for me to follow. Expecting him to lead us up to the front door, I was puzzled when he instead leant back against the bonnet and lit up a cigarette.

"What… are we waiting for someone?" I asked, leaning back against the bonnet with him.

"Do you remember any of this?"

"Huh? No…"

"The town's called Hutt. And apparently, this is your place."

"My place? Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"How'd you find it?"

"All it took was a few phone calls."

I'll admit I was skeptical at first. Not a single thing about the place was even remotely familiar. But I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt for a while and put the skepticism out of my mind. I pushed off the bonnet and did a full circular lap of the house, hands in the back pockets of my jeans. I peered in through the windows as best I could, but there wasn't much to see apart from crappy broken furniture.

"Are you honestly sure?"

"Yep. What about inside?"

He strolled up to the front door with me following nervously behind. He rattled the door handle but it was locked tight.

"I could kick the door down or break a window or something."

"No," I said quietly, shaking my head. I knew the easy way to get in already.

From the back pocket of my jeans I pulled out a thick piece of bent wire – one of a few small tools I carried with me. It seemed silly to still be holding onto them all, but those insignificant pieces of scrap metal had been my lifeline for the three weeks after I woke up on the farm. Throwing them away still would've felt like I was throwing away my only means of survival.

Skillfully, I inserted it and felt for the lever to lift, then turned it over to unlock the door.

"I fucking knew it," he said. I'm not sure whether he looked more astounded or impressed.

I said nothing and gently pushed the door in.

With one foot inside, an unpleasant shudder quivered through me. The place had been messed up like someone had been looking for something but thought they may as well smash everything else in sight while they were at it. Furniture had been overturned, cabinets shattered, draws scattered and holes had been kicked in nearly every wall. The state of the place wasn't what made the goose bumps appear all over my skin though. Some bad shit had gone down with me in that house; I had such a strong feeling of it that I could almost taste the blood.

"I don't like it in here," I said quietly, backing out through the door.

Ace seemed to ignore me and moseyed into the kitchen to take a look around while I fled back out to the car, feeling a little nauseous. Ace came out a few minutes later and pushed himself up to sit on the bonnet, so I climbed up next to him and stared vacantly out towards the house.

"Anything comin' to you yet?"

Not being able to remember was almost stressful. It was like trying to remember someone's name that you'd forgotten – you know you know it, it's right on the tip of your tongue, but no matter how hard you try it just doesn't come to you. I knew that I'd been there before. But those memories were just never going to come.

I spoke softly, almost in a whisper. "At first I was sure you had it wrong, because I don't recognize a thing about this place. But I was here, I can feel it. I feel weak… and I feel sick. Something really bad happened in there and I think I'm lucky I don't remember what."

"Like I said, it'll be trauma. Problem is you don't wanna remember. And being whacked over the head will be what's set it off."

"Whacked over the head? What are you talking about?"

He casually took another drag on his cigarette. "I know your boyfriend."

"My boyfriend?"

"Yeah. This guy's such an asshole he'd shit on his own mother's grave. I never did trust that hot-headed prick. If you ever got in his way he'd have no second thoughts about getting rid of you, and I bet that's exactly what he tried to do."

"What do you mean, _if I ever got in his way_?"

"You know, if you ever pissed him off," he said with a modest shrug. "Anyway, word has it that you two had a massive row out there on the street one night, then by the morning you were both gone, never to be seen again. Then later that day a few guys stormed in and trashed the place." He took one long, last drag then stumped it out on his bonnet as the warming breeze blew his stream of smoke away from us. "He would've driven you out and dumped you. Whacked you over the head and left you for dead. How you could end up with a fuckhead like that anyway?"

"…I need a beer," I said sliding off the bonnet and helping myself to what was left of his supply. "You want one too?" Needless to say he gave me a look in return like that was the dumbest question anyone had ever asked him.

I climbed back up onto the bonnet, feeling so overwhelmed that I could barely breathe. "So, where is this guy now? Does anyone know?"

"Nope. I thought he would've fucked off out of the state by now. He'd know it's not safe for him to hang around here. Those guys want his ball sacs. And if they ever find him, they'll take them… believe me. But…"

"But?"

"That door was locked. You think the guys who trashed the place would have bothered to lock it afterwards?"

"Jesus… so he could be around then?"

He left the discussion at that and reached into the front pocket of his jeans to pull out a folded bit of paper, which he slapped down onto the bonnet between us. It was my driver's license.

"Where did you get this?"

"In the house."

"You went searching for this for me?"

"No, I went searching for money and drugs," he said reaching into his back pocket. "And I found both." He held out five dollars and a bud.

As I looked back towards the house an unexpected smile spread across my face. For once, in a long time, I felt somewhat whole again. The missing pieces of my past were finally beginning to fill in and make some kind of scary sense.

"Well, I never thought I'd ever say thanks to your face, but… thanks. I don't know how you found all this out, but... thanks."

"Good thing I did. With a fuckwit like that on the loose, you'll wanna stay on the lookout. Last thing you want is to be caught on the back-foot."

The kind of support Ace had given me was something I'd been yearning for, for months, even though I hadn't realized it until then. A strong, emotional feeling of gratitude came over me and I leant forwards to give him a small kiss on the cheek. It was only intended to show my appreciation and I had meant to pull back right away, but the feeling of him being so near was too intoxicating to deny. So I lingered around his shoulder with my heart pounding and my cheeks flushing hot, feeling vulnerable as he just stared silently at me with those cool blues only inches away, giving me no hint of whether he wanted anything or if I was about to be sorely rejected. And then suddenly, as if he'd been cruelly playing me, his poker face faded and a rough, subtle grin replaced it.

"I knew it," he said coolly with an unusual softness in his voice which was worlds apart from his usual gritty tone.

"Question is, what are you gonna do about?" I said just as coolly, trying to play down the nerves that were running wild within me. Chris's warnings gently crept up into my mind but I selfishly shooed them away. There was no more denying that I was attracted to Ace, and I couldn't resist wanting a taste any longer. _Who were you trying to fool Cass?_ I asked myself as I ignored everything that was important to me and let myself go for indulgent, selfish, lust._ Reeled in again… you'll never change._

Ace looked me dead in the eyes and the seriousness of his expression made me gulp with an anxious excitement that I'd never felt before. Then without wasting another moment he ran a hand up through the back of my hair and pulled me to him locking me into the most intense and wild pash I'd ever had. I've always loved kissing, and there's only been a couple of guys who I'd found to be really good at it. Well, Ace absolutely swept me off my feet when he showed me what he could do. And all I did in return was moan in pure bliss as I drank in the kiss that I'd been craving for my whole life. Because, he didn't just kiss me; he devoured me. It was as if my mouth was the most delicious fruit in the world and he was stopping at nothing to consume the lot of it all for himself.

I felt his other hand slide up through my hair to hold my head in a firmer embrace as he continued to take control, with me following his lead, entranced and in complete euphoria. I'd been carried away to seventh heaven. I was in such a dreamland that I didn't even think to wrap my arms around him. I just sat there listlessly, indulging in the feeling of his tongue running rings around mine which was occasionally sucked into a velvety soft cavern of lust and greed.

The suction then drew outwards as he pulled away and I dreamily opened my eyes to see him staring back at me with an amused grin. My breaths were coming out in a heavy, yet steady rhythm and I noticed that I'd gone completely limp in his hands. I tried to speak sense, but all I could stammer was, "Oh god…"

After some reassurance that he had me right where he wanted me, he was on me again. I slung my arms around his neck as he kicked the intensity up a notch by forcefully guiding me to lie down on the hood. There was no holding back now, for either of us. It was obvious that he wanted me, and I sure as hell wanted him. His mouth began to ravage mine with such force that my head was feeling the firmness of the bonnet underneath it, and I slid my hands up the smooth skin underneath his shirt to urge him to keep giving it to me like that.

He soon shifted to lay on his side, half on the hood, half on top of me, to free his right hand which hastily dove in under my back to unhook my bra one-handed. His hand then slipped out to greedily grope my right breast and his fingers rubbed my nipple hard in between two knuckles which drove me wild. I lazily opened my eyes to him and was surprised to see he was watching me intently as he worked away at warming me up. Seeing my eyes were fixated on him, he broke off the kiss and I felt his hand slowly move southwards, skimming down the skin of my belly before popping the button of my jeans out of its hole. He nudged at the side of my head with his nose and whispered coarsely into my ear, "You're all mine."

I was no stranger to what he was suggesting, nor was I one for insisting on taking things slow. But the realization that this was Ace Merrill who was about to stick his hand down my jeans made me a little apprehensive. Just what was I doing? I'd given in to too much already. If I let this go any further it'd complicate things dramatically. But if I didn't, and ended up missing my chance with him, then I'd drive myself crazy thinking about what could've been. As he drew down the zip my conscious begged me to protest but my libido begged me for more. I was torn between right, wrong and pure lust. In the end, I didn't decide and just lay there limply as he slipped his fingers under my white cotton panties before pushing his hand all the way down.

"Oh god," I moaned as he touched me, and all sense flew right out the door. Lust and wrong had just won hands down.

"Fuck, you're soaking wet."

"I'm not surprised," I chuckled, thinking back over the intensity of the ride so far.

Two of his fingers and a thumb then instinctively moved to all the right places at once, and the instant pleasure of it caused my whole body to jolt making me hit my head back on the hood. "Ouch," I laughed, lifting a hand to rub it. He stifled a laugh at that, and kept watching me closely as he worked his way in a little deeper before moving his fingers faster to increase the pleasure ten-fold. A huge sigh escaped me and in between heavy breaths, a string of smaller sighs followed. I hadn't been touched like that in months. I needed, craved it, and for Ace to be the one giving it to me drove me to the edge of insanity. I slowly felt myself begin to rock against him and he just kept grinning down at me, seemingly amused as he watched the euphoria swathe across my face.

"You really know what you're doing, don't you?" I whispered as the incredible tightness below told me I was already getting close.

I listlessly rolled my head on either side towards each neighboring house to check the coast was clear, never forgetting that we were in fact on the hood of his car in a suburban area, even if it was more like a ghost town. The house to my left sat quiet and still with the curtains closed, but when I turned my head to the right… a lady in about her 40's stood at her window looking down at us from the second floor, wide-eyed, mouth gaping open with a disgusted look on her face.

"Oh shit! Ace!" His hand slipped out as I scrambled to slide off the bonnet and he frowned at me, looking seriously unimpressed.

"What's the problem?" he asked irritably.

"That fucking neighbor's there!" I yelled. I briefly pointed up to the window where she was still standing, before fumbling with my jeans to do them up again.

He turned to look just as she pushed the window out to shout down some verbal abuse at us. "You vulgar children! How dare you commit those disgusting acts in my neighborhood!"

Ace was furious with her for interrupting us, but mostly for being called a child. He walked over to the fence line, picked up a brick from a pile of junk there, and hurled it at her. He only intended to scare her off and so purposely missed the glass, but the brick bashed against the side of her house so hard that it created a noticeable impression in one of the weatherboards. The lady freaked out and started screaming that someone was trying to kill her and Ace and I both knew that she'd be on the phone to cops in no time. "Fuckin' old bitch!" he yelled up at her, making certain that he had the last word.

But he obviously wasn't in the mood for trouble. He grudgingly got into the car and slammed his door hard. I swiftly grabbed our beers off the bonnet and followed him as he fired the engine, revving it up as loud as he could before reversing wildly out the driveway. He then threw the car into gear and peeled out all the way down the street which was still slippery from the night's rain.

We sat in silence the whole way back to my place with Ace resentfully slurping away on a few more beers and with me battling between conflicting thoughts. Now that the heat of the moment was over I could think clearer, and Chris's warnings were ringing louder in my mind. But on the other hand… wow – Ace had some serious skills and there was no denying that I wanted more of him. I definitely didn't want that to be the end. As for how he was feeling about things, I had no idea. He wasn't showing signs that he wanted more – he didn't pull me over to sit closer to him, nor did he pull the car over to the side of the road to finish the job.

When we finally pulled up my driveway he killed the engine but didn't make any move to get out. I had an urge to try my luck and invite him in but things had well and truly died down by then. I decided to let it go and leave things to fate.

"Thanks again for everything. It's scary to know what happened, but I needed to find out. I feel kinda complete again in a way. I just hope this guy thinks I'm dead and doesn't find out that I'm not."

"He's probably long gone, but you just stay on the lookout."

"OK, thanks," I said with a small grin. We sat there for a few moments just gazing at each other, with him not showing an inch of emotion, and me awkwardly waiting to see if he was gonna say anything about where we go from here. "Well, I guess I'll see you 'round," I said, finally deciding that he wasn't gonna do anything and it was best to leave it alone. But as I opened the door he slung an arm around me and pulled me to him again, locking me into another heated kiss, but this time it was only brief.

"I'll come see you in a couple of days."


	9. Chapter 8: Reverse Psychology

**Reverse Psychology**

* * *

There's that saying, "There's no rest for the wicked," and I was beginning to understand its true meaning… literally.

I hadn't had a decent night's sleep in days. Even if I did fall asleep it was only a light doze, and every tiny noise outside would jolt me wide-awake and have me reaching for the baseball bat. I knew I was probably overreacting a little, but just knowing that someone was out there who'd tried to take my head off was _more_ than a little concerning to me. Ace thought the guy would be long gone, but he didn't really know that for sure.

That wasn't the only thing keeping my brain wired at nights, though. Just the thought of what had happened on the hood of Ace's car sent every urge in my being running wild. Boy that guy could kiss; there was just no other feeling in the world like it. I had such a powerful craving to go further with him that I worried I might drive myself crazy… because I knew I couldn't let things go any further. When Ace told me he was coming back in a couple of days I was ecstatic, but it didn't take long for me to fall back down to reality and realize that if I kept letting myself indulge… what in hell would I tell Chris?

Chris had been so good over the two weeks before that, that it just added to the guilt – ten-fold. He had re-sat that test that he'd _supposedly_ cheated on and surpassed his original mark, ending with an A+. I was so proud of him that I even baked him a congratulations cake to take up to his tree house for him and his friends to gorge themselves on. And since then, he'd study every night either at the tree house (if it was empty) or at my place, because it was too difficult for him to study at home.

He'd really been trying hard just as I'd advised him to and yet, I'd basically taken the advice he'd given me and stomped all over it. I felt more than guilt. I felt like a traitor. I'd led Chris to believe that he could trust me and yet I couldn't even trust myself. I knew it'd take some severe self-control to keep myself on the leash if Ace ever tempted me with _that_ again. But I just didn't know if I had that kind of willpower, or wanted it.

Hell, the next day after the trip to Hutt I went straight down to the doctors to get on the new Enovid tablets. I'd been on them before by copying an old friend of mine who got hold of some by lying to her doctor about having some sort of severe menstrual problems. The good thing was though, that this time I found I didn't need to lie. He just prescribed me with some without any questions asked. Boy those things work wonders. I knew I had to find the strength to stay away from Ace for Chris's sake, but getting on those tablets just shows how little faith I had in myself – although I knew I had to try. I had to _force_ myself to try.

It was a Saturday night, a whole week after we'd taken the trip up to Hutt, when I saw Ace next. I hadn't let it get to me that he'd told me he'd come see me in a couple of days, not a whole week, because no temptation made things a whole lot easier.

So anyway, there I was parked on my sofa, having a quiet Saturday night in and being drawn into a new episode of _The Untouchables_, when a familiar rumble pulled up the drive - Ace's '49. The sound immediately sent me into a nervous wreck and I pressed my hand flat against my chest as if that would help to calm down the sudden rave of commotion going on in there. I switched off the TV and made my way to the front door, picturing Chris and pushing myself into offensive mode. I had to tell Ace where to go; there was just no other way. The difficulty was that it was only a half-hearted decision and I was planning to _force_ myself to go through with it. After taking a deep breath to help me gather some much needed self-assurance, I swung open the door to see Ace rising up the steps with two boxes of beer stacked in his arms.

"You're back," I said, trying my best to dramatize the most peeved look possible, and ignore how good he looked in that black leather jacket.

"I've been outta town all week. Had some business to take care of." He pushed his way past me to drop the beers on the bench inside.

"I don't wanna drink with you Ace. What we did last week was a mistake. I'm sorry, but you've got to go."

He completely ignored me and headed back to the '49, reaching down into the back seat for another couple of boxes. "Come gimme me a hand with this lot."

"What are you deaf? I just said…"

"Will you quit your whining and come gimme a hand?"

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously, stepping down and peering into the back. It was laden with boxes of beer - there must've been around 15 12's stacked across the seat. "What's all this for?"

"Can't have a party without piss," he casually shrugged.

"No fucking way."

He stacked one box on another and pushed them into me, trying to force me to take them. "These ones in the bathroom."

"Bathroom? What the hell for? Wait… no! This isn't happening!"

It didn't matter what I said, the stubborn bastard refused to hear it. I stood my ground and refused to take the boxes from him, but he didn't let that bother him at all. There's more than one way to skin a cat, and he knew exactly how to convince me. He placed the boxes down on the step beside us and then slyly reached down onto the front seat to grab something.

"Here," he said, pulling up an unopened bottle of Jack Daniels. He passed it to me, but didn't release it from his grip, and lent down to whisper into my ear. "If you're a good girl, you'll be getting some later on."

The deep husk in his voice and the feeling of warm breath on my ear made my chest blissfully coil into knots. His unshaven chin lightly brushed my neck which sent goose bumps rising down the entire left-side of my body. Getting _some_?

"OK, maybe one little party wouldn't hurt…"

I know. Hopeless. So much for telling him to take a hike.

So, I ended up helping him haul all the boxes inside, stock the fridge and then unpack the rest into the bath – he'd brought a few bags of ice and filled it to act as a second fridge. Clever idea really. But I couldn't help worrying over the amount he'd brought. My biggest fear was that Violet's tidy, petite house was about to be trashed by drunken madmen.

"So… ah… how many people are you expecting to turn up? That's an awful lot of booze you've got there…"

"Don't you worry your pretty head about it. I got this under control."

"You better. I'm not spending the next week trying to get puke stains out of the carpet."

"What did I just say? I got this under control. Quit fucking worrying OK? Now, where's that bottle of Jack's? I hope you've got shot glasses." Suddenly a little less charming now that he'd got his way.

Earlier that week as I was searching the cupboards for a measuring cup, I'd found these expensive looking 1940's French crystal shot glasses that looked like they'd never been used. I guess they once belonged to Violet's husband. I grabbed them and took them into my room where I'd left the Jack's on the dresser, away from potential thieves.

"Can you do three?" Ace asked, cracking the seal and roughly pouring the glasses as I lined them up.

"If you can do it, I can do it," I replied cockily.

"You gotta down one after the other, no stopping OK?"

"Easy."

It used to be easy, but it'd been a long time since I'd had whiskey – that I could remember anyway – and after greedily downing my three shots my throat burned for a while and felt rather raw. But I stubbornly ignored it and refused to show any weakness.

"Good shit huh?" he said, as I stood with my eyes closed for a moment, savoring the taste and waiting for that euphoric feeling to hit me.

"Yeah," I grinned. I suddenly felt satisfyingly sedate as a gentle wave came flooding through me.

I dreamily opened my eyes to see Ace eyeing me shadily, with that devious grin on his face again like he knew I wouldn't be able to resist it. My conscious gave me a swift lecture and a smack on the hand, but while he was looking at me that way nothing could've talked me out of it. I daringly took a small step forward, an attempt at a seductive hint. But he didn't move a muscle and just stood there all staunch.

"Don't start something unless you're gonna finish it," he warned.

"Oh, I intend on finishing it," I said softly as I slid my hands over his broad shoulders.

I couldn't help myself. I'd been dreaming of those kisses for a week and needed to feel them again. I hungrily grabbed at his mouth with mine, still wet with JD's. He quickly took control, making me weak all over as he slid his wet tasty tongue into my mouth, and I became that delicious fruit again that he just couldn't get enough of. He began to walk me backwards towards the foot of my bed and my abdomen throbbed with anticipation of what I was about to receive. Lightly shoving my shoulders, he made me lose my balance to fall on the soft covers. I leant back on my elbows, biting my lip impishly as he stood before me, still with that wily grin like he had me exactly where he wanted me.

I watched with wide eyes as he hastily pulled his leather jacket off, coiled it in a heap and threw it hard against the bedroom door, slamming it closed. My heart began to race as he then crawled over top of me, making me feel like prey laying helplessly underneath a predator, anticipating the moment when it would be devoured. And devour me he did. He lowered himself on top of me and lay so heavily on my chest that it was almost difficult to breathe. His wet mouth sucked hard and painfully on my neck, but I loved it. I ran my hands up the smooth skin under his T-shirt to pull him down further, wanting him closer, to give it to me harder. I was on cloud nine and wouldn't be coming back down for a while... or so I thought.

"Hey, anyone home?" came a call from the lounge.

I suddenly fell off the cloud and hit the ground hard. But Ace ignored it and got up to straddle me, then began fumbling to undo the buttons on my shirt.

"Yo, Ace!"

"Fuck off Eyeball!" he yelled back, finishing with my top before working his way down to my jeans.

"Oh, sorry!" Eyeball snickered.

"Ignore him."

"Um… OK…" I said, now finding it extremely difficult to loosen up again. I began to wish that I'd been a little more patient.

Then, another vehicle rumbled up the driveway and parked itself right outside my window.

"That'll be Vince," Ace said, still undeterred.

"Vince? You're kidding me right?"

"Why? What's wrong with Vince?"

"When he dropped me into town he left me outside the garbage dump. That's what's wrong with Vince."

"Don't worry about it."

"Where's Ace?" came Vince's voice from the lounge.

"In there, getting laid," came the subtle reply from Eyeball.

That was all I could take. How in hell was I supposed to relax into this with all that going on out there? It was far too distracting… not to mention humiliating. Besides, if the walls were thin enough for us to hear them clear as day…

"I'm sorry Ace, I just can't do this right now."

"Just ignore them," he said insistently, slowly peeling my jeans down my legs.

"No… wait!" I pulled away from him and hastily tugged at my jeans to get them back up.

He sat up, kneeling over me, looking pretty pissed off to say it lightly. "So what? You're piking out on me now?"

"Sorry..." I said guiltily. "Later… OK?"

He shook his head disbelievingly and abruptly got off me, mumbling under his breath, "Thanks for fuckin' nothing." He ripped the bedroom door open and slammed it closed behind him, vibrating everything on the dresser including the bottle of JD's.

I lay there for a little while, sprawled on the bed feeling like I'd been hit by a train. I zipped myself up again and redid the buttons on my shirt, barely believing just how fucking turned on I was. I just hoped I hadn't pissed Ace off too much because I wasn't nearly done with him yet.

I finally came out of my daze, slid off the bed and composed myself, catching sight of my neck in the mirror. _Holy shit… how the fuck am I supposed to cover that up?_

After sneaking another shot and finding one of Violet's old cotton scarfs to wrap around my neck, I wandered out into the lounge. The radio quietly hummed away in the background, Ace sat at the breakfast bar still brewing with a beer in his hand, and Vince leant over it on the opposite side, pointing at me like he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Holy fuck, you're…"

"Yeah Vince. Nice to see you again too," I said, pulling up a barstool next to Ace. Ace wouldn't look at me though and just slurped away at his beer, brooding.

"So how'd it taste?" At first I thought Vince was asking Ace and being really disgusting. But actually, he was asking me and being really disgusting. "I dropped you off outside the biggest free supply of food in town, and you don't even thank me?"

"Fuck up Vince," I replied.

"Yeah, fuck up Vince," Ace echoed after me.

Hey, Vince is OK. I mean, he's a cocky shit and is never short on smart remarks, but I know not to take anything he says and plant a 'relevant' sign next to it. And I can give back just as hard as I get sometimes, so he's not always entirely to blame. I put up with him and he puts up with me. A perfect harmonious friendship. Besides, we have to get along – Vince is Ace's right hand man. I mean, Eyeball has his place in the pecking order too, but if Ace needs back up and can only take one, Vince is it. And somehow Vince always seems to be there, standing loyally by Ace's side, right at the crucial moments. He doesn't quite reach Ace in height, but he's stocky and has burly broad shoulders that none of the other guys can match. He has somewhat more brains than some of the other guys who hang around Ace too, so that's another compliment I'll pay him; not that I'd ever admit any of that to his face.

Next to arrive were Billy, Charlie, Fuzzy and Jack. Honestly, I don't know what Ace sees in any of them; I'm sure they're only there to make up the numbers. Billy and Charlie caused the whole scenario of the search for the body of that dead kid to go haywire. If those two hadn't opened their big mouths about it in the wrong place, it wouldn't have gone down the way it did. Ace never forgets a fuckup like that one, and ever since then he's been reluctant to tell them anything worth knowing - those guys are on a need to know basis only.

Fuzzy and Jack are the youngest of them all; they'd barely turned 18 at that time. Sometimes I do feel a little sorry for those guys – Ace uses them like pawns, pushing them out in front if there's anything he's reluctant to do himself. He'll usually entice them by dangling a carrot in front of them and they'll follow that carrot right off the edge of a cliff if that's what Ace asks them to do.

At least Jack managed to lift Ace's spirits that night though, by ambling in carrying two unopened bottles of scotch.

"Jack, you came through for us," Ace praised him, rising from his barstool. He put Jack in a friendly headlock to steal one of the bottles off him.

"Yeah, hocked them outta my granddads liquor cabinet," Jack laughed coolly. "Threw them out the window 'n into the garden when he had his back tuned. The guy's stocked! I shoulda threw out more..."

"So, go back and get more," Ace said, just as coolly. None of us knew if he was serious about that or just pulling Jacks leg… including Jack, who's face suddenly lost it's cool and sunk. If Ace wanted more scotch, Jack knew he'd be going back to get more scotch - no argument about it.

Fuzzy then waltzed in carrying two large bags of sausages, one over each shoulder like he'd just brought them straight in from a hunt.

"Where's the barbeque?" he asked no one in particular.

"Don't have a barbeque," I said eyeing the stove and wondering how long it would take me to cook them all on there.

"Out the back," Ace thumbed behind him as he searched the cupboards for a glass, for a scotch on the rocks.

"What do you mean out the back?" I headed through the house and poked my head out the back door to see a small round barbeque, patiently waiting, already lit with hot embers burning. "When the hell did you…? Never mind…" This guy was really starting to impress me now.

Eyeball was assigned barbeque duty, and anyone who stood too close soon fled from the intense white cloud of smoke that arose as he piled on more and more sausages. He didn't care too much if they were cooked evenly. All he wanted was to get the job over with so he could go get started on the drinking games.

He's no budding chef, that's for sure. I remember this one time he cooked dinner at Ace's and tried to fry off some stakes using a pot and a wooden spoon. OK, he was pretty smashed that night – we all were, which is why he got the job – and so none of us really cared that he'd mistaken the sugar for the salt either. Sweet steak and sweet potatoes tasted just fine in our condition. But after being served steaks that were still moo'ing, I ended up recooking them. That was months after the night of this party though, so I had yet to learn how handy Eyeball _isn't_ in the kitchen.

It was at around 8 that the people started to flood in like someone had busted open the local dam… and the dams in the surrounding towns. Once there was no more room to park on the road, Billy was given a good supply of beer and put on duty to sit out the front to tell everyone to start parking in my back field. Most of them were out-of-towners and didn't know, or care, whose house they were invading though. Everyone brought beers or a bottle of something to contribute, and as the selection of spirits started to accumulate on the counter, I started to worry that things could easily get out of hand.

After helping Eyeball with the barbecue out back, I squeezed through 10 feet of crowd in the lounge, and somehow reached Ace at the breakfast bar where he was examining this antique looking bottle of Jim Beam. "Jesus Ace, how many more people?"

"What does it matter? I got it under control."

As soon as Eyeball finished burning the sausages on the barbeque he pushed his way through the crowd towards the radio, cranked it right up to full and then shouted over the hubbub, "Who wants a shot!" If I hadn't been worried already, I was sure worried now. He shouldered his way through to the other side of the counter and pulled out some shot glasses from a cupboard, which he'd apparently stored in there earlier. He had a large box of about 15 of them and lined them up along the breakfast bar while Ace and Jack poured from random bottles from the collection.

It didn't take long for 15 hands to shoot in from all directions… and mine wasn't one of them. After those four shots of JD's I was wasted enough as it was for that time of night. It's amazing how much harder alcohol hits you when you've barely had any for months. If it was any other party at anyone else's house I'd be trying to drown myself just like the rest of them. But since this was Violet's place I had this sense of responsibility weighing on my shoulders.

"What's your problem?" Ace asked me bitterly, as he and everyone else drank on Eyeball's countdown.

"I've had enough for now, trust me."

I watched them all greedily down another round, then another, and then another. Eyeball obviously thought the pace was still too slow though. He grabbed one of the vodka bottles and took a few swigs from it as easily as if it were water... ugh… and he still wasn't satisfied yet. "Got any cards?" he yelled over to me.

"Oh no, not the drinking games," I cringed. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Don't make me tell you again," Ace told me sternly. "Go get the fucking cards."

I raised a defiant finger at him behind his back, much to Eyeball's amusement, and retreated into my room to hunt through the closet. I was sure I'd seen a deck of cards in there days before. It was a relief to get away for a short moment. The house was quickly getting stuffy with smoke, and with the crowds of strangers and the rowdy radio, which seemed to get louder and louder with each passing second, I was beginning to feel like I was back in a bar in Portland.

As I finally found the cards, which were stuffed in a box among all sorts of useless stuff, Ace unexpectedly walked into the room beside me and swung the door closed behind him. "Time for another Jacks," he said wandering to the dresser and reaching for the bottle to pour a few more shots.

"Dam, you guys can drink!" I wandered over to him, cards in hand, and leant back against the dresser as he finished pouring them out. "Do you even feel anything after all those shots before?"

"Yeah, spose," he shrugged. "Takes a bit to get _me_ ripped."

"Well I've only had four and I'm far enough along for this time of night, so don't worry about pouring me any more."

He took a shot and then lent forwards on the dresser, staring irately at me. "You know what your problem is?"

"What?" I asked blankly.

"You worry too much."

"Well, what do you expect? You turn up here out of the blue, let hundreds of people who I don't even know into my house and just expect me to be happy about it? I've been trusted to look after this place."

"Why can't you just relax and let me take care of it?"

"Because it's my place and I have to stay in control."

"The whole point of this party tonight was to get you to chill the fuck out. So stop worrying about gettin' vomit on your precious carpet and just loosen up instead of being such a fuckin' killjoy."

"Killjoy! Shows how well you know me..."

He took another shot and kept leaning over the dresser, shaking his head sternly in disappointment. "Truth is Cassie, I don't know if you've got what it takes to be with me. If you wanna be with me, you gotta prove you can handle it."

"Oh, and you say that to every chick you come across? I doubt it."

"No - just you."

"Well that makes a lot of sense."

Ace then suddenly pushed off the dresser in frustration and took an abrupt step towards me. "Stop being so fucking pig headed! Do you honestly want me to put you in the same box as every other bitch I've fucked then tossed aside?" His voice rang out throughout the room, and probably would've been heard throughout the house depending on noise levels in the lounge.

"I beg your pardon?" I yelled back at him, my voice no match for the strength of his.

"Fuckin' answer me!"

"Well… no…"

"Then stop acting like a pussy and grow some fucking balls!"

"What did you just say? What did you just say to me asshole? Did you just call me a pussy? Are you fucking kidding me!" I couldn't believe my ears. My cheeks were burning up with anger and my muscles felt rigidly tense. After everything I'd been through I definitely did not deserve to be called that, and he knew it.

"Why don't you just go ahead and prove me wrong."

"You fucking name it pal, I'll do it!"

His eyes narrowed at me as he appeared to think things over. I wanted to prove him wrong for sure. I wanted nothing more at that moment than to take his words and shove them right up his ass.

"Alright," he said, dropping the irritability and suddenly becoming calm. "You and me, later on tonight, we're goin' for a ride into town to stock up on some free supplies from the liquor store."

"You mean you wanna rip it off?"

"Only if you think you can handle it," he said cunningly, his eyes with a hint of sly.

"I'm gonna make you eat your fucking words." I grabbed one of the shots and threw it back in rage as he stood grinning at me, seemingly satisfied. Although, I didn't know why at time.

I began to wonder how differently things may have played out if Ace had thrown the party around at his place instead of mine. Maybe I would've felt a little more carefree and we wouldn't have had to resort to this. But little did I know that it was inevitable – he would've got his way, one way or another. And now everything was going exactly according to plan.


	10. Chapter 9: Breaking Me In

**Breaking Me In**

_Chapter has been extended._

_Take a deep breath..._

* * *

_What in hell did I just get myself into?_ I stood behind the bedroom door literally banging my head against it after Ace left the room looking subtly pleased with himself. _Ripping off the liquor store? Come on Cass… what were you thinking?_

I don't know what came over me during that argument; I felt my eyes glaze over, all peripheral vision disappeared, and I saw red. I'd been called many names in my life, and most of them I probably deserved, but 'pussy' had never been one of them. It wasn't the name or the word he'd chosen that got me so riled though. It was because that's what he said he _thought_ of me.

As that fateful pledge escaped from my mouth, _"I'm gonna make you eat your fucking words,"_ I didn't think about the risks involved and I didn't think about what would happen if we got caught. The only thought that bore any relevance in that moment of madness was to do just that - make Ace eat his words.

But now that he'd headed back out to the party, leaving me alone in my room with my thoughts, the reality of what I'd just agreed to do turned me cold sober. If we were caught and charged I could lose my job, not to mention lose Rose and Violet's respect... and maybe even the house. One slip up or one nosey wanderer could potentially cause every aspect of the life I'd built up from scratch to be flushed back down the toilet.

On the other hand, if I pulled out, Ace would chalk it up as a win on his side of the board and I'd be rendered as a 'pussy' for life – never to hear the end of it. Or, that'd be the end of it and he'd move on. That thought alone was motivation enough because the tantalizing teaser he'd given me earlier got me wanting it… bad. And besides, I'd never been caught before and so blind confidence told me I could easily do it again.

After pushing my way back into the stuffy room full of strangers, I shoved through to the middle of the tightening mass gathered around the small counter. Ace sat conceitedly on the center stool, cigarette in his mouth, drawing the final card of the first game. If you've got stacks of alcohol to waste there's only one drinking game for it – F.U.B.A.R. Fucked Up Beyond All Reason. Of course, Ace wouldn't have chosen anything less to kick start the evening's entertainment.

There were only three stools on one side, taken by Vince, Ace and Billy, so that left the other guys standing clustered in together on the opposite side. Any space not occupied by Cobra's was filled in by over-excited, alcohol-infused, testosterone-fuelled teenage guys I didn't know, nor wanted to know. I squashed in between Ace and Billy, and leaned over the counter, signaling to Eyeball to pour me a drink. I was still reluctant to have any more, especially now that I needed a pair of steady hands and a steady head later on that night. But I thought one more might help calm the nerves.

"So. You finally finished throwing your tantrum and've come to play with the big boys eh?" Ace mocked me, shuffling the deck for a new round.

"Don't flatter yourself Ace," I mocked him in return.

Eyeball slid over a rather strong rum and coke, and I took a step backward to watch the game from behind. But Ace had other ideas. He flashed a cold look at Billy sitting to his right. "Billy. Move it."

Billy's face, which had been pumped full of excitement, suddenly melted into a pool of disappointment. He was on the edge of protest for sure but couldn't quite find the courage to bump heads with Ace. So he reluctantly backed down and sacrificed his stool to me.

"You don't have to do that Billy," I told him. "I'm just having the one."

Billy's face lit up again and he sat back down, thinkin' he was back in the game. But Ace knew which card to play with me now; he simply mouthed at me over his shoulder, "Pussy," and before I knew it, I was sliding onto the stool and forcing Billy aside. "Actually, thanks Billy. Appreciate it." That'd be him outta the games for a while.

Ace finished his shuffle and cut the cards before placing the pile down center-table. He drew the first card, a five – give five drinks – and handed it to me. "All yours," he grinned.

"Well, just so you know, I don't function well when I'm too pissed." I'd actually been referring to the job Ace had talked me into, but Eyeball's and the other guy's dirty minds all thought I meant something else entirely. Eyeball let out his unique laugh that sounded like some kid trying to imitate a machine gun, before assuring me that I didn't need to function all. Even Ace laughed at that, knowing darn well what I'd really meant. But what could I say? I couldn't correct anyone on it. So, I just blushed into my glass as I obediently took my five drinks.

The game circulated around from Ace's left, always leaving me last to draw a card. Every time he picked up a 5, and somehow he got them all, he'd give them all to me. Whenever he pulled a 6 – the "I never" card, which is when anyone who _has_ done what he says he _hasn't_ must take a drink, he'd think of things that were sure to make me drink up. Like - "I've never worn a bra", or "I've never sucked cock." That was an embarrassing one to say the least. Everyone dreaded it when Ace picked up the Kings – the "Waterfall" card. He'd start chugging down his beer and everyone had to follow suit and keep going until he stopped. He'd chug back a whole can and then skillfully get the next one ready in such a way that he could do two non-stop.

Three people were out on my back lawn after that round. But at least they all had the decency to make the effort to get outside. The next three rounds weren't too forgiving either. Things looked blurrier and slower each time I drew a card. I'd turn my head quickly to focus from one person to another and it took around two seconds for the double vision images from my eyes to slowly catch up with my brain.

But, now that I was hammered and feeling a whole lot more relaxed, I started to notice just how well Ace handled things and looked after the place, as he said he would. In fact, I began to think that having Ace at your party would probably be worth paying for. Because of his rep, he'd hardly have to raise his voice before everyone knew the rules. No fighting inside, no locking yourself in the bathroom to root (or in the bedrooms for that matter), and anyone who passes out gets dragged out onto the back lawn to recover. Not that Ace would be enforcing the rules – that's what the rest of the Cobras were there for – he'd just sit back and relax, giving orders. After years of partying with Ace, the rest of the guys knew what was expected of them when the party was at the house of one of their own. If it was some random party they'd gate-crashed – different story. They'd be trying to break more rules than enforce. But since this was my place, and since Ace was intent on getting me to trust his judgment, things had to be kept under control… well, to some degree.

At around ten-thirty Ace unexpectedly seized my half-finished glass of Jim Beam from me. I protested for a few seconds, in complete ignorance to what we'd agreed on earlier. "What are you doing? I'm just getting started!" I slurred, failing to snatch it back.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me off the stool, through the crowd and into my bedroom because he couldn't risk my drunken ass spilling anything of our plans out loud.

"Another Jacks?" I said playfully, heading for the dresser.

"No more for now. You can drink when we get back."

"Ooh… you taking us somewhere? Somewhere fun I hope," I hinted alluringly.

"Oh, it's gonna be fun alright. But you need to be sober. A lot more fuckin' sober than you are now," he laughed, looking me up and down.

"Shit. Are you still expecting me to…"

"Don't think I'm letting you off the hook on this," he cut in, suddenly becoming serious. "You said you'd do it, now I expect you to deliver."

"I'm fuckin' wasted though! And you're the one who got me this way!"

"Then you've got two hours to sober up. Plenty of water in the tap."

"Fuckin' get me some then," I sulked, falling back on the bed and feeling the room start to spin.

Surprisingly, he did bring me a glass of water – a large one. After I thirstily downed the lot, he grabbed my wrist again and hauled me back through the crowded house, onto the back deck which was also packed with people.

"Stay out here, get some fresh air," he ordered.

I slumped down on the steps with my head in one hand, empty glass in the other thinking, _Cass, what have you gotten yourself into?_

* * *

"What are you fucking crazy?" Vince said, stunned at Ace's plans.

It was midnight, half an hour before we planned to leave and Ace had pulled Vince, Eyeball and myself into my room to inform them of what we'd be getting up to over the next hour.

"No, asshole. This chick's done it plenty of times."

"Ace!" I exclaimed through gritted teeth. "You weren't supposed to say anything!"

"Don't worry, we ain't gonna tell no one," Eyeball reassured me. "Besides, I knew already."

"You what?"

"Can you two just shut the fuck up?" Ace said sternly, taking charge of the conversation again. "As far as the other guys know, me and Cass are just heading back to my place to pick up some more brews. They're not to know anything more, and definitely nothing about her. Got it?"

Vince and Eyeball each gave a subtle nod; Eyeball smirking with a beer in his hand, swaying in small circles on the spot, and Vince leaning against the corner of my dresser with a stern and serious look on his face. He still thought taking _me_ out for this was a far too risky idea.

"Cass, grab some dark clothes and meet me out at the car in twenty OK?"

"Do I have a choice?" I mumbled under my breath.

"Sure you do. You saying you wanna pull out?" He eyed me cunningly, testing my nerve. He didn't care either way – If I did it, he'd win. If it didn't do it, he'd win. But the pressure was ten-fold now that Vince and Eyeball were standing in the room. It wouldn't only be Ace that thought I was all talk and no action if I pulled out.

"No. Why would I pass up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this one?" I said sarcastically.

Twenty minutes later, after Vince and Eyeball managed to move the last car that had been blocking the '49 in, Ace and I finally hit the road out to his place. The water and fresh air I'd been sucking down for the past two hours had cleared my head a lot, however I was still feeling a little bit woozy. My nerves were still lingering but the alcohol helped sedate them a little. I glanced over at Ace and there were no nerves to be seen there. Anyone would've thought we really were just going back to his place to pick up more beers.

His house sat quietly in pitch blackness when we arrived, only lit up for a brief moment by our headlights before the engine was killed. Ace told me to change inside and to meet him out in the shed when I was done. He was already conveniently dressed in black jeans and black T-shirt and so it was only me who'd need to get out of my colors.

I couldn't see a thing as I made my way from the car to the house. I tripped up on the low front deck that ran the entire length of the front of the place, and then almost sprained an ankle in one of the many holes that covered it. No wonder he didn't care about leaving the front door unlocked. Anyone that could make it in without hurting themselves deserved to rob the place. Not that anyone ever would, simply because it was Ace's, but also because there wasn't much inside that was worth stealing.

I felt around for the light switch and found it on the wall by the front door. The house immediately lit up to reveal a medium sized and fairly tidy place, with all the basics but nothing more. A kitchen table was right in front of me in the kitchen/dining area, and if I hadn't found the light I no doubt would've walked straight into it. To my left were stainless steel benches which lined three of the walls in a U shape, broken up with a kitchen stove against one wall and the fridge directly opposite. Unpainted wooden cupboards sat underneath and above the benches. Why is it that, no matter how careful you are, you always wind up whacking your head on one of those upper cupboard doors every now and then?

Looking for somewhere to change, I moseyed into the next room which was the lounge. There's no door between the kitchen and lounge, there's just an open space from the end of the bench and cupboards to the wall. Three sofas also sat in a U, with two of them facing each other and the other facing the television. There was clear space behind the sofa at the base of the U so you could walk through to the hallway from the kitchen without any hurdles. The hallway door was closed at the time though, and I didn't want to go nosily wandering any further through his house. So, I quickly changed right there in the lounge in front of the TV before heading out to meet him in his garage.

The garage looked larger on the inside than it did from the outside, probably because of the shrub and twisting vines that grew wild over it, secretively concealing it from view.

"Come check this out," Ace called from behind an open hood.

I wandered in deeper to find luxury appear on either side of me. A mint, deep purple, '38 Dodge pickup lay to my right and a smooth, black '51 Lincoln with whitewalls and rear suicide doors lay to my left. Not that I knew much about cars at the time.

"Holy shit, are these yours?" I asked beaming in amazement. A tiny tingle of excitement ran through me because I knew I'd be riding in one of those beauties that night. If someone were to find one of Ace's well known Fords parked behind the liquor store at that crazy hour, at least we'd have some chance of making up a story, or making a run for it, leaving no evidence behind.

"They're in my garage aren't they?" He dropped the hood and threw me a set of keys and a pair of old gardening gloves. "We'll take the Lincoln. Back it out and I'll close the doors."

I pulled on the gloves, gently opened the driver's door then slid into the white leather interior. It felt sensational, like I was sitting on a soft marshmallow. I turned the keys in the ignition to be rewarded with the sound of a soft hum which gently vibrated through my body. I gently backed the car out and turned it to face the road, then shuffled over to the passenger's side to wait for Ace who was swearing at the rusted garage doors behind me.

The back door of the Lincoln swung open and a hand trolley was tossed onto the back seat. "You still got your lucky charms on you?" he asked, before joining me in what felt like a small slice of heaven.

"Always."

He slowly pulled the quiet beast out onto the highway and my stomach fluttered with a swarm of butterflies that came in an instant, then flew away just as quick. This was it – no more time for nerves, no time for cold feet, and no time for thinking about how hot Ace looked behind the wheel of that Lincoln. It was time to forget all of that and focus.

"Shoulda waited a couple of hours," I said. "It is Saturday night after all... It's not just the cops we have to worry about you know."

"If you can get the door open as quick as you did at your old place, it'll be a five minute job. We're only taking a few boxes, and if there's no sign of a break in, chances are they won't suspect a thing 'til the next stock count."

"It won't be as quick… it's not the same type of lock."

"How long then?"

"Last time, it took me hours."

"Hours! You're fuckin' joking right?"

"Calm down. That was only because I barely knew what I was doing, and I didn't have these right tools. But considering I'm still half pissed, I'm betting… five to ten minutes, tops."

"You fuckin' better. So… you've gotten into that store before huh?"

"Yeah. And I don't wanna talk about it."

* * *

It'd only been three days since I'd arrived in Castle Rock, and I was feeling severely pissed off and incredibly lonely. I hadn't had much practice at all with the pin tumbler locks, so it took me half the night to get in there. But once I was in, I headed straight for the hard stuff at the front of store, grabbed a bottle of Southern Comfort and slumped down in a corner sobbing and trying to drown my sorrows. Climbing out of the hole that I'd somehow fallen into seemed too impossible to do.

I was so low that night - and after quarter of a bottle, so drunk - that I actually decided that I didn't care about living anymore. It seemed so much easier to end my life than to fight for it. And when I smashed that bottle over the counter for a thick piece of glass and held it to my wrist… that's when I saw the memory of my mother, lying there icy cold. Hate for her wound through me, choking me up in tears. She should've been there for me right then, but she wasn't because she'd been too weak minded to handle it when things got tough. And that's when I realized that if I went through with it, then I was no better than her. In fact, I would've been justifying what she did, and basically saying that I was OK with it. In the end, that's where I found my strength; from fear of weakness.

And I think that's what'd pissed me off so much about Ace calling me what he did. If I had no backbone, no courage, no nerve or willpower, then the owners would've found me the next morning lying in a pool of my own blood and tears. I needed all of those things to pull me out of the darkness and into the Diner, and if I hadn't, I wouldn't have been sitting next to him right at that moment about to risk it all.

* * *

Our plan was simple. Park in the back street behind the drug store which was two doors down from the liquor store. I'd make the first move to get the door open and then wait while Ace came with the hand trolley for us to load up. One load was all we'd take. The door would lock itself, so once we were out, we could vamoose. That was the plan anyway – not to be greedy.

The main street was vacant and sparsely dotted with streetlights which glowed dimly in the cooling night. There wasn't a soul to be seen as we drove cautiously past the front of the liquor store, checking the lights were off and the way was clear. We pulled into the side street and then Ace slowly reversed the quiet beast into the dusty back street, parallel parking in the shadows behind the drug store. He turned off the ignition and we sat in concealed silence for a second, while I gathered my thoughts and psyched myself up.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yep."

We crept out of the car leaving the doors ajar and crouched down beside it, one of us at either end, to scan the area. A slight mist hung in the air and I took a deep breath, feeling its dampness fill my lungs. The dark, wide back street ran behind about eight or so stores, and each end of it linked up with a side-road. That gave us two exit routes to choose from if we needed to make a run for it. But if both ends were blocked, then we'd be in the shit because getting over the eight-foot high brick wall that ran alongside would be near impossible.

After we nodded to each other in agreement that the way was clear, I emerged out from the shadows and into the open. No street lights reached here; all I had was moonlight dimmed by a thin blanket of cloud. Carefully pacing in a crouch, I made my way over to the back of the liquor store with the gravel crunching conspicuously under my feet. Reaching the door, I threw off the gloves and tucked them into one back pocket, while pulling my tiny tools out of the other. Two thin pieces of wire were what I would use – one with a right angle hook on the end, and the other with a flat head which was my tension wrench. Not that I knew what it was called at the time.

My head buzzed with adrenaline as I ran my hand over the lock for my touch to help my sight. Carefully, I inserted my two pieces of wire and started from the back, working my way forward, pushing each pin up and resting them on the ledge above the shear line. It had been so long since I'd done it that I was finding it difficult… well, that and the fact that I was still tipsy and the tools kept slipping in my sweaty hands. Five minutes passed and Ace must've been getting itchy because he came over without waiting for my signal.

"Why's it taking so long?" he whispered, coming in close next to me.

"I told you five to ten didn't I?" I whispered back. "That's your fault for being so determined to get me off my face. Anyway, I think I'm on the final pin."

I felt the final pin lift and rest on the ledge and I grinned proudly as I knew I had it done. I turned the tension wrench around fully and pushed the door open a crack. The lock popped out again as soon as I pulled out my wires, meaning the door would relock itself when we were ready to pull it closed.

"Get the trolley," I whispered over to Ace, not realizing he'd already disappeared.

I gave the door a soft shove to open it fully, and to my terror, it scarily gave a long, loud whining sound which made my heart leap into my throat. I stopped to listen for a moment and checked around to make sure no neighboring house lights came on, but thankfully they all continued on in their silent slumber.

Carefully tip-toeing through the door and into the darkness I paused for a second to let my eyes adjust. The shallow, dark corridor had two doors. The door to my immediate left led to the cool room where the beer was stocked, and the door in front of me led out to the store where all other varieties of liquor were kept. The beer door was locked with the most basic lever lock you can get, but the one to the store front had no lock at all. Temptation called me to open that door… but then Ace disturbed my thoughts, reappearing with the hand trolley and wheeling it into the narrow corridor.

"Just a sec," I whispered, pulling out another tool. After less than five seconds of my time, the beer room swung open. "Time to load up… quickly."

Box by box we stacked two wide and about six high leaving, what I thought was, a noticeable dent in the pile of boxes in the room.

"You really think they won't notice?" I asked, a little concerned.

"Fuck it. Come on, let's go," he said, wheeling the beer out the back door.

He disappeared with it, leaving me standing alone in the small corridor. I relocked the cool room in seconds and then just as I turned to leave… a passing thought flashed through my mind. _Another bottle of Jack's would__be nice. It'll only take a second…_

I pulled the store front door open and cautiously stepped inside. It was a tiny space and I almost felt claustrophobic as I anxiously scanned for the shelves that held my favorite liquor. It only took a few seconds to find, and as I carefully pulled a bottle down off the shelf above me… the sound of a key being inserted into the front door of the store almost made me drop it on the floor in fright.

Quick as a snap, I ducked down low and dashed behind the front counter. The bright lights came on, almost blinding me after being in darkness for so long. I ached to sprint through to the corridor door which was within my reach at the opposite end of the open-ended front counter. But the gap between them meant that I would surely be seen, and if not heard, if I were to attempt to scurry through there.

I remained low and silent, literally on my knees, begging that they'd quickly get what they came for and leave again. My stomach knotted so tightly and squeezed so tensely that I thought I might shit my pants. My ears strained to listen as a single set of footsteps paced quickly and unsuspectingly around the store; there was no way in hell I was about to pop my head out from the end of the counter to take a look, so the sound of the footsteps were now my eyes. He sure sounded like he was in a hurry – he rushed up and down the narrow isles, stopping briefly twice to pull bottles from the shelves.

I then noticed that I'd left the door to the corridor ajar and hoped with all sincerity that he wouldn't see it and investigate. And then I hoped even more that he wasn't planning on grabbing a box of beers because apart from the fact that there was a likely chance he'd see me huddled behind the counter on his way past, the back-door of the store was wide open. Either way, I'd be in a whole heap of trouble.

The footsteps paused for a few seconds, which seemed like a lifetime to me, and then to my terror they began to slowly stride in my direction. Little balls of sweat started to accumulate under my armpits and down my front, and I felt nerves like I never knew existed. My breath held itself and I pushed myself up against the back of the counter as flat as I could, as if that would help to hide me better. The tinker of two bottles hitting together sounded right above me as he placed them down on the counter. I couldn't help but glance up to make sure he wasn't leaning over it… and then I saw him. Well, I saw his warped reflection in the bottles lined on the shelf above me.

_"Fuck me…"_ I silently mouthed. "_Don't fucking move."_ If I could see him, he'd be able to see me. If I made even one small movement it could catch his eye and then I'd be done for. But he was young, too young to be a store owner. _What in hell is he doing in here at this time of night?_ I wondered.

_Beeeeep-beeeeep!_ Came a long, high pitched car horn from outside. The guy hurriedly grabbed his two bottles and his warped figure shrunk as his footsteps snappishly ran for the front door. The lights switched off to leave me in blackness again, and I heard the turn of a key as he re-locked the door.

I bolted for the corridor and then tore out the back entrance, slamming the door closed behind me. I can't remember ever having travelled so fast in a crouch before. I moved as fast as humanly possible back to Ace's car where he was nowhere to be seen. I hunkered down at the rear, shaking as I strained my eyes which were still readjusting to the darkness, trying to catch any glimpse of his movement in the back street. It would've been at least a couple of minutes before he showed and I felt a slight sense of relief as his broad outline finally emerged from the blackness.

"What the fuck happened?" he whispered furiously. "How'd you end up in the store?"

I rose to my feet and felt my cheeks flush hot against the cool, damp air.

"And what the fuck is this?" He grabbed the bottle of JD's off me that I'd forgotten I was even holding.

"I'll explain later. Let's just get the fuck outta here!" I whispered-screamed at him, hearing the desperate urgency in my own voice.

I moved towards the door of the car, but he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back around to face him. I prepared myself for a well-deserved lecture, but to my surprise his irritated frown relaxed into a permissive grin. "You should see your face right now. You're fuckin' pumped."

"What are you talking about? Lets go!"

We swiftly climbed into the car and he slowly drove the beast out of the dark side-street onto the road, towards the safety of his house. I couldn't help looking behind us, half expecting to see blue and red sirens in the review mirror. But the main street was as still and quiet as it had been half an hour earlier.

"That was fuckin' awesome," Ace beamed, pulling a cigarette out from behind his ear.

"Awesome for you maybe, you weren't huddled behind the counter praying the guy wasn't going to bust your ass."

"But feel that adrenaline pumping through you baby. That and a good fuck are the two feelings in the world that'll make you swear you're alive."

The corner of my smile rose as I finally understood what he was saying. I felt like fear and exhilaration had come together to form one giant fist which had punched me so forcefully in the guts that I was left feeling completely exhausted and done. And now that I sat safe the after-effects of it were starting to kick in. It came over me so strongly that I was almost tickled by the smooth flow of epinephrine oozing out of my adrenal glands.

"So you thought you'd nick a bottle of JD's while you were at it?"

I didn't answer and stared guiltily down at the bottle weighing in my hands. I felt so stupid nearly getting busted for one quart bottle of whiskey. I could've at least grabbed two…

"Hey, no one would've thought someone would walk into the store at this time of morning. But that'll teach you to always stick to my plan, OK? You're just lucky I checked out the front."

"So, you saw what happened?"

"Yeah, I _saved_ your sorry ass. After I loaded up the car you still weren't back, so I ran over to check what was up, but you weren't there. Then I heard a car door slam out the front, so I ran 'round there just in time to see this guy walk straight into the piss store. I hid behind his car across the road to keep an eye on him and it was close; you were fuckin' lucky. He was searching his keyring for the key to that cash register, and if he'd found it you would've been fucked."

"So was that you with horn?" I asked sullenly.

"Come here," he said, tilting his head to motion me to move closer. I shuffled along the bench seat and he put his heavy arm around my shoulders. "You did fuckin' good OK? Sure, you fucked up a little bit, but you learn from your mistakes."

"So you don't think I'm a pussy anymore?" I said lowly, almost laughing at how stupid it sounded that I cared so much.

"If I really thought you were a pussy I wouldn't have taken you out there."

"So why'd you call me that then?"

"Cos I wanted some free piss," he casually shrugged. "You're no pussy, but you're still fucking gullible."

My draw dropped and I felt like reaching up and slapping him across the face. But at the same time, I couldn't help but slap myself across the face for falling hook line and sinker. "I fucking hate you," I grizzled.

He pulled me in tighter to him and kissed me on the side of the head. "Fuckin' gem."

After changing my clothes again at Ace's and re-swapping the cars, we arrived at mine at around 1.30am. The place was still pretty active, mainly with the people who'd turned up later. Eyeball and the rest of the gang were all still there, lazily dozing on various bits of furniture. Sly grins formed on Billy, Charlie, Jack and Fuzzy's faces, like they all thought they knew the real reason why Ace wanted to take me back to his place, while Eyeball and Vince just looked relieved to see that we hadn't ended up in a cell for the night.

"Billy, Charlie. Beer." Ace said, flicking his fingers and slumping down onto the sofa next to Vince.

I took the sofa arm next to Ace and my eyes followed Billy and Charlie as they moved to do as Ace had ordered them to. But, just as they walked out, a familiar face walked in. My heart suddenly sank like it'd just been filled full of lead. I quickly turned my head away from him in fear that he might recognize me… but how could he? He hadn't seen me.

I poked Ace in the ribs and pointed as the guy walked straight through the house past us all, carrying a bottle of Old Crow in one hand and a bottle of Wild Turkey in the other. Ace wasn't fazed and gave me a knowing grin, leaving the other guys baffled. Then to baffle them even more, we both restrained a laugh as the guy met up with his buddies on the back porch and started moaning that some asshole had tried to steal his car when he'd been filching the piss out of his old man's bottle store. Luckily we'd left most of the beer back at Ace's, but I still snuck a couple of the boxes into my room in fear that the guy might see a big pile and connect it with the big hole we'd left in his cool room.

* * *

Even though I felt fairly safe for the moment, I still couldn't bear to be within reasonable distance of the guy. So I escaped into the bathroom to take a soothing hot shower and afterwards dressed in fresh jeans and a sleeveless button up shirt. As I was about to rejoin the group in the lounge, I noticed my reflection in the mirror and stared at myself curiously, trying to comprehend what I'd done that night. I knew I should've been feeling guilty, but I wasn't; not at that moment. I was still feeling the rush of pulling off something so unruly and wicked. The surge of adrenaline that I'd felt when I'd got that door open was still slowly moving through my system and I was reveling in it. Exhaustion was beginning to hit me though, mostly due to the lack of sleep over the past week, but I was fairly sure I wouldn't be getting much that night simply because I was too pumped up over what we'd done.

I thought a few more drinks would probably do the trick, so I went to head out into the lounge. But after pulling open the bathroom door I was taken aback to see Ace standing in the doorway of my bedroom on the opposite side of the narrow hall. His solid arms were raised as he lent against the doorframe with a seductive smile that made me melt into a big pile of goo. He silently backed into my room, hinting for me to follow.

After a quick breath to help calm the nerves, I stepped into my room and closed the door behind me, trying to be sneaky when I turned the key to lock it. But Ace noticed anyway and grinned knowingly as he continued pouring six shots of Jack's at the dresser, just as we'd done earlier. The ceiling light was off but he'd found the lamp on the dresser and switched that on to give the room a darker more subtle ambience.

"Get your sexy little ass over here," he said devilishly. My tummy rolled and I felt slightly breathless when he said that. I wanted him so badly by now, and those words told me I was about to get what I'd bargained for. I walked over to the dresser where he was standing, took one of the small French crystal glasses and held it, waiting for him to make the call to down them. "No stopping," he said with that unusual softness in his voice again. "And I don't just mean the shots."

I smiled briefly at that; there was no way I hell I was gonna stop. Eyeball and Vince could've busted the lock and burst into the room and I wouldn't have cared. I impatiently threw back my three and closed my eyes to wait for the feeling of sedation to hit me again. "Mmm…" I grinned as I began to feel it a little, but not nearly as strongly as the first time.

"You like that JD's don't you?" he said as I opened my eyes.

"Actually… it's my favorite. I guess you lucked out on that one."

"Maybe that's not all I lucked out on." Next thing I knew Ace was on me like he couldn't have waited another minute if he'd tried. He'd slipped one hand around the back of my neck, clasped the other on my ass and had me locked into another one of his tantalizing tongue rolls. My abdomen pulsated with urge and I went limp, but he held me up and led me over to the double bed once again. I fell back onto the soft covers with his heavy body on top of me and strained to crawl my way up to the head, leading him to follow.

"Fuck you're a good kisser," I somehow mumbled, pulling him onto me harder.

"So are you – but I bet that's not all your mouth's good for."

"Hmm… maybe you'll find out later."

He sat up to straddle my hips and then a sexy-sly grin spread across his face. There was no fussing with the buttons of my shirt this time. Instead he ripped it down the middle with such urgency and force that the buttons popped right off the cotton. His steel capped boots went next, each being pulled off and dropped heavily onto the carpeted floor beside us, and then he untucked his T-shirt and whipped the thing right off over his head.

My jaw dropped open like the force of gravity had suddenly taken hold of it. Seeing Ace sitting on me, in only in his black jeans, literally made my mouth water - barely sun kissed skin, minimal blond chest hair and those worker abs that I've since learnt had come from getting into fights so often. I stared at him wide-eyed, gaping as I looked him up and down and almost died when the hot thing lent down to lie on my nearly bare chest. His mouth found mine again and I moaned in ecstasy, grabbing him around the neck as he reached behind me to unhook my plain white cotton bra. His mouth then caught hold of my tongue and he tugged on it with light suction as a hint for me to pull myself up so he could rid me of my ripped top and slide my bra off down my arms. He paused for a second to glance down at me lying in the dim lamp light, now exposed from the waist up.

"Nice tits," he whispered as he roughly groped my right with one hand and slid his other up to the side of my neck under my ear. His thumb stretched around my chin to hold it firm, and he turned my head away from him to begin suckling on the skin of my neck.

"I bet you say that to all the girls," I smirked.

"Not often. You're one sexy little bitch Cassie," he growled into my ear.

"And you're too tempting for your own good."

At the time I thought he was probably just sweet-talking me, but I've since learned that Ace doesn't say anything he doesn't mean. So I guess guys tell me I'm cute and yeah OK, so I'm more than happy with my figure. But wearing jeans all the time, plain tops and never any makeup (I didn't like all the attention I seemed to attract when I wore that stuff), I definitely wouldn't have put myself in the 'sexy' category at all. But my looks weren't the main reason why Ace was chasing me – I guess that was just icing on the cake to him. He was after much, much more than that; I had plenty yet to discover.

I was lapping up every second of the attention he was paying me, moaning at every touch, and pulling him into me harder as he let his mouth run wild all down my neck. His fingers were rolling my nipple in-between two knuckles again like he'd been doing on his hood, and the harder he did it the more aroused I'd become. I hadn't told him so, but he was quickly beginning to learn that I like it a little rough. There's just something about getting it raw and unrestrained that turns me on more than soft and sweet ever could.

After making a good mess of my neck, he scuffled backwards a little and worked his way down to my chest, taking each of my little buds into his mouth in turn. I'm pretty happy with my size; not too big and not too small. Just a nice whole handful which Ace definitely seemed to be enjoying. I ran my fingers through his hair, whimpering slightly as he tongue circled and drove me absolutely crazy! At that moment I wouldn't have cared if that was as far down as he was planning to go. He could've hung around there all night if he wanted to, I wouldn't have complained one iota.

But I started to feel a little guilty that I was the only one getting any attention, and so I reached down between us to undo his buckle. I could only just reach it at first, but he quickly took the hint and came up to kiss my neck again so I could reach to get it undone. Once I had it, I whipped the thin piece of leather out from around his waist before working at his button and zipper. He sucked my skin even rougher as his anxiousness built up, and he moved to my mouth as he felt my fingers slipping south across the skin of his belly. A small thrill ran through me as I slid my hand over the soft cotton covering the ridged length - he'd been blessed, and at that point it sure felt eager for some release. I got a bit more daring then and tucked my thumbs into either side of his jeans and pushed them down over his ass. That move was like lighting a rocket. He kisses suddenly became more needy and fervent. The energy that emanated from him was intense and infectious. He moved down my body sucking in lumps of skin in various places – my side, my hips, my belly – leaving a trail of little bruises in his wake. After leaving a final one beside my belly button he hastily undid my jeans and grabbed the waist with his fists. With one swift enthusiastic yank he ripped them down my legs and off, with my panties following soon after. I modestly kept my legs closed with my knees up and he let out a low wolf-whistle at me lying on the bed completely naked in front of him. "Sexy bitch…"

I couldn't help but feel flattered, and beamed at him as he cut in-between my knees to lean over me, using his width to spread them wide apart. The soft skin of his hips rubbed against my inner thighs and I melted at the silky smooth skin to skin contact. Thinking I'd be clever, I brought my knees right up on either side of him and tucked my toes into the sides of his jeans and underwear. Then by pushing my legs down I stripped them both down his legs and off all the way.

"That was a cunning way of doing it," he grinned down at me.

"Just fuck me already."

His grin became even wider at that comment; in fact I'm sure he almost laughed at the stone cold seriousness in my voice. Then he narrowed his eyes into that devious, devilish stare that I was becoming more and more helpless to resist. "I'm gonna do you real good sweetheart. You're about to get the fucking of your life."

Chris tried to creep into my conscious again, but this time he barely made an appearance let alone had any impact. This would no doubt change things between us but I was in no state of mind to worry about that right then.

Gripping my arms around Ace, I pulled him down to kiss me with all the pent up desire that had been building since before I could even admit it. He moved into place and I sighed heavily as he slowly pushed his way in. My belly was pulsating and my abdomen was intensely tight. There wasn't even a need for me to lube him up; I was so wet with anticipation that, even after months of not getting any, it was effortless.

"Oh yeah, take it all baby," he rasped in my ear as he bottomed out. I didn't have the capability to say anything at that moment. I tried, but all that came out was mumbles and moans.

He rapidly built up momentum and the heat between us became increasingly thick. Our breathing was ragged, my heart was racing at a million beats per second, and the sexy-soft skin of his back was soon slick with sweat under my palms. Missionary had only ever been the sensual warm-up for me - feeling close, holding each other in a tight embrace and feeling our entire bodies rubbing together. In the past it had never been a position that I could get off on. But with Ace it's a completely different story – he knows what he's doing; there's no simpler way to put it. All the feelings of sensuality were there, but at the same time the raw roughness of him giving it to me so brutishly gave it that animalistic edge that made my entire body come alive.

But over the time I'd known Ace, every now and then he'd surprise me by doing something that I never in a million years would have expected from him. And that night he said something that topped them all.

"Do I need to pull out?"

I lay there underneath him both stunned and impressed. Even in the heat of the moment he was onto it enough to think of these things. "Wow, aren't _you_ a responsible one?"

"Just ain't careless."

I grinned and kissed him as he'd slowed down a little. "No, you don't. Cos I'm not careless either." He grinned down roguishly at me before completely coming to a halt. "What is it?" I asked.

"Get on your knees."

"I thought you'd never ask."

He got off to let me roll over and get up onto all fours. I squealed in surprise and excitement as he slapped my ass hard, before rubbing the skin to soothe the sting. He really began to rip loose on me then, pounding away like he was _giving_ me the fuck of _his_ life. "God you're a good fuck," he growled before letting his mouth loose, saying things so dirty they'd make a whore blush. But it didn't turn me off – not in the slightest. The fact that he was giving me all he's got, letting himself go with no restraint, delivering it with such primal intensity made it exactly what he'd promised me – the fuck of my life. Then finally I heard the words that brought me all the way to the climax. "Here it comes baby."

My breath held and my body stiffened as I felt him swell and waves of orgasm began to pulsate through me. I cried out as it went on and on for at least a good 20 seconds or so before I began to quiver and descend down from the high. For the second time that night, adrenaline had surged through my veins – but this time, it'd been caused by physical rampage instead of fear. The two feelings that'll make you swear you're alive had run through me and out of me so completely that I collapsed, face downwards on the soft fabric gasping for air, with a smile that I could not wipe off my face.

Ace collapsed next to me on his back, panting heavily, his skin glistening with sweat. I wanted to say something to tell him how good it was for me, but every sentence that came to my head seemed lame and didn't nearly do the act any justice. So I just lay there on my belly watching him with my satisfied grin and he grinned back knowingly. We didn't need to say anything; both our faces said a thousand words.

After a little while I crawled over him to give him a surprise of my own. He watched me intently, running his fingers through my hair as I cleaned him off, leaving him good and ready once again. "Knew you'd be good at that."

"Just you wait." I crawled off the bed and used my ripped shirt to briefly clean myself up before wandering over to the dresser butt naked in front of him. He complimented me again with another low wolf-whistle and I poured myself one more shot and downed it to wet my dry throat. "Want one?" I asked.

"I want you to get your sexy ass back here before I lose my patience and do you up against that dresser."

"No…" I said approaching the bed again. I crawled over top of him and my whole body tingled with excitement at the sight of him lying under me between my legs. "It's my turn now." I lowered myself down onto him and rode him, soon bringing us both to another powerful orgasm. Then later, he did me again, this time with one of my legs bent against his chest while he straddled my other thigh.

When we finally felt satisfied enough for the moment, we lay apart next to each other, staring at the ceiling with the bed a mess underneath us. The blankets had long since been kicked onto the floor and the sheets were twisted and damp with sweat.

"You're amazing," I panted.

"Tell me something I don't know," he replied cheekily, and I grinned over at him and teasingly pinched a nipple.

It was clear that we were both exhausted and so I got up to switch off the lamp that had been setting the mood for at least two hours, so we could sleep. I crawled back onto the bed and lay on my side, wrapping a sheet around me and feeling Ace's hot body come to lay behind me. He wrapped his arm around me and I closed my eyes, feeling fatigue finally taking over.

"I hope this isn't a one off," I spoke quietly with all sincerity. Hearing my own words scared me a little for Chris's sake, but at the same time I craved for more; I couldn't deny it any longer.

"It won't be."

I beamed from ear to ear at that answer. No one had given it to me _that_ good before… not even close. Ace and I seemed to click in the bedroom and I'd never felt so content and fulfilled in all my life.


	11. Chapter 10: Vague Suspicions

**Vague Suspicions**

* * *

"Ace," I whispered. I gripped the sheets which covered my bare skin and pulled them into me, rolling over, expecting to feel him still lying close. It was too dark to see so I extended my arm out, feeling along the sheets, disappointed to find that I was alone. Hot-blooded visions of a wild couple of hours played through my head – I knew he had me addicted… and I was ready for another fix.

Mumbled voices carried through the walls from the lounge and I pinned my hopes on Ace still being out there so I could drag him in for a second dose. My exhausted body rolled itself out of bed and I wrapped it in sheets before shuffling over to the dresser to feel for the lamp. My eyes squinted, too dry to open in the light so I blindly opened the draws before peering through slits to search for clean clothes.

Briefly glancing in the mirror, I was taken aback at how tired I looked. The events of the night and lack of sleep during the week had obviously taken their toll. I tilted my chin up to take a look at the bruising on my neck inflicted by Ace's mouth, and… fuck me; I was a mess. They'd been dotted all over the right-side under my jaw, the largest being about the size of an egg, deep purpley-red, and even a little tender to touch. I dropped the sheet so I could dress and was slightly stunned to see my reflection. Hickeys… I was covered in them. My breasts, hips, belly, inner thighs; he'd really worked me over.

After dressing half blind, I stumbled out into the bathroom to wet my eyes, in the hope that it would convince them to open. But just as I splashed cool refreshing water over my face, a startlingly loud moan came through the wall from the spare bedroom, and that got the eyes wide open in an instant.

I grabbed a towel to wipe my face and listened closely as another intense cry echoed through the wall and around the bathroom. It was a girl's voice, that's for sure. But who was with her? I told myself to stop being stupid; it could've been anyone in there. But just the thought of the possibility was enough motivation to make me high-tail it out to the lounge.

The clock read 4am and the lounge was empty except for the Cobra's. They were all still awake and lazily sprawled over the furniture, or the floor – well, all of them except Ace and Eyeball; they were nowhere to be seen.

"Who punched you in the neck?" Vince sniggered groggily under some passed out girl who was laying half on him, half on the armchair.

"Where's Ace and Eyeball?" I asked, growing too curious to bother with his smart comments.

A rhythmic banging sound came loudly down the hallway and I couldn't help shoot a nervous glance towards the door of the spare room.

"They're in there, can't you hear it?" Vince smirked.

My jaw dropped a little as I stared helplessly down the hallway at the door. My belly turned weak with jealously and hurt and an incredible surge of pressure pulsated through me urging me to move. I desperately wanted to tear down the hall, rip open the door and pull Ace off her, claiming him back for myself. But I dug my heels in, unsure whether I could handle such a sight.

"Don't do that to her asshole," Charlie spoke up, dismayed with Vince's dirty prank. "Eyeball's in there, Ace is out on the back porch."

"You're unbelievable Vince," I said utterly disgusted with him. I took a breath and calmed myself down, irritated with my tired overactive imagination.

"You shoulda seen your face," he laughed carelessly. "Dam, that was priceless." He was obviously sloshed and tired, but there was still no funny side for me. I gritted my teeth and restrained myself from cuffing him over the back of the head as I walked behind his chair towards the back door.

"Thanks Charlie." I made sure to give him a small smile in thanks before pulling the door open a crack.

I poked my head out and gave an inner sigh of relief to see Ace leaning over the rail, talking quietly with another guy I didn't know. I felt like such an idiot for being so gullible, again, and detested myself for mistrusting him with no grounds for it.

They were passing a joint between them and speaking lowly, having what seemed like a serious covert conversation. And as soon as they realized I was there, with my nose out the door, their quiet chat quickly ended.

"You're awake," Ace said, casually passing the joint back to the other guy. He appeared unnerved by my presence, but his friend seemed slightly hesitant.

"Yeah," I pulled my head in to give them back their privacy, but he called me out.

"Where are you going? Come meet Markus."

_OK… maybe I read it wrong_, I thought as I apprehensively stepped out, pulling the door closed behind me.

"Hey," said Markus, extending a hand which I gently shook.

"Cassie."

He was substantially shorter than Ace, with a wild mop of blond curls atop his head and wide sly blue eyes. He wore old torn denim jeans smeared in grease and oil like he'd been working under cars for weeks, and an old leather jacket, worn at the sleeves like he'd owned it forever. He seemed friendly and approachable enough, but he also had this reserved, mysterious feeling about him like he could pull the wool over your eyes and rip you off without a second thought.

"Were you here earlier or?" I asked Markus curiously.

"Nah, my err... job needs me to work late sometimes," he said, shooting Ace an anxious glance.

"Oh, what do you..." the final word was going to be "do," but he abruptly cut me off.

"Anyways, I've gotta go. Ace, I'll give you a call on those parts." He then hurried off down the steps, leaving via the back of the house rather than going through it.

I cocked a confused eyebrow up at Ace but he ignored it and took another toke before offering it to me.

"I'm good thanks. Don't like smoking that shit when I'm tired."

"Well, the guys'll be outta here soon. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna let you get any sleep," he said casually, flicking the roach off the porch and into the garden.

"I said I'm tired, I didn't say I wanna sleep." Keen to claim him back in my grasp I slid my arms inside his leather jacket and went to lay my head against his chest, but he caught my chin and roughly tilted it up, taking a good look at the bruises on my neck – the biggie in particular. "Fuck, I got you good there."

"There and nearly everywhere else…"

"That's your fault for being so fucking tasty."

I just grinned and tucked myself in close to him, perhaps feeling a little clingy after Vince's harsh hoax. The rhythmic banging started again at the end of the house and I felt Ace laugh slightly which lightened my mood of it a little. "Vince tried to tell me that was you in there before. What a bastard."

"Did he?" he laughed as if that was normal coming from Vince. "So were you jealous?"

"Of course."

"So you believed him then."

He'd caught me out good there. I'd already scolded myself for mistrusting him with no real proof. "Well, you know how gullible I am."

"Yep, I know," he said, squeezing me in tighter. He suddenly felt a million miles away and I wasn't sure if he'd grasped just how lame an answer that really was. I thought it was just because he was tired and stoned, but at the same time I had a strange feeling there was something he wasn't telling me.

* * *

**2**

After only about an hours sleep, I woke again, this time with dawn gently lighting the room. And again, just like a few hours before, I pulled the covers in tightly, feeling them brush over my naked skin. I rolled over onto my back, but this time Ace lobbed his arm over my belly and weakly pulled at my waist.

I just lay there for a while, not thinking about much apart from falling back to sleep, when suddenly Chris brushed passed my mind again. As I strained a tired glance towards Ace - who lay asleep, flat on his stomach with his head under the pillow - I knew that the dye was well and truly cast; there was no turning back now. I didn't regret what we'd done for a second and the guilt that had been weighing on my conscious like a soggy wet blanket felt as though it had been lifted. If Chris ended up hating me for it then I would understand and just have to live with myself for it. But I preferred for him to hate me over lusting after Ace rather than for being dishonest with him – I didn't know how, but I had to tell Chris. He deserved to know the truth.

After a few minutes of lying there with my thoughts, I finally admitted to myself that I badly needed the toilet. A few minutes after that I finally found the will to roll out from under Ace's arm, pull on the nearest clothing to my reach and reluctantly stumble towards the loo. It seriously stank in there like people hadn't obeyed the 'no spewing in the shitter' rule. My throat felt raw and dry so I dragged myself out to the kitchen to scull back a glass of water before heading back to the bedroom, longing to feel Ace next to me again. But, to my surprise and disappointment he was up, already dressed and ready to leave.

"I've got some shit to take care of this morning," he said yawning and trudging past me without a second glance. Then he must've thought twice because he halted, turned back and then leant down to my ear, "But I'll pick you up later on." I guess he supposed he should at least make some sort of effort to string me along until then. And as lame as the attempt was, I admit… it worked.

"Eyeball, get your lazy ass outta bed. Let's go," he called, banging hard on the door of the spare room before swinging it open.

I had no clue about what they'd need to do on a Sunday, and it wasn't even 6.30am yet. But I was too tired to care much.

After a couple of minutes and a few resistant groans from Eyeball, he finally came stumbling out of the room pulling his T-shirt over his head. Half-asleep, he mumbled something to Ace as they wandered down the hallway, and then they both left leaving me alone in peace… or so I thought.

I crawled back into my warm and comfy bed and lay there for a few moments before I heard the door of the spare room open again and the bathroom door close. _The girl…_

Feeling forced to make an appearance, since she was in my house and there was nobody else to do it, I grudgingly crawled off the bed again and trudged out to the kitchen. I slumped down on a bar stool and waited for her to emerge for some time, before being woken by a poke in the arm.

"Sorry, is this your house?" she asked in a hasty and excited voice.

"Hi, yeah." I raised my head off the breakfast bar and rapidly blinked my eyes in an attempt to stop seeing blur.

She was a fairly pretty dark blonde with her hair still slightly messed from sleep (among other things) and wide enthusiastic blue eyes. She pulled a cardigan over her small shoulders and adjusted her breezy peach skirt which hung slightly below her knees.

"Sorry I stayed last night, I hope you don't mind." She spoke so quickly that one of her sentences would've fit into half the timeframe of mine. And it wasn't just because I was feeling sluggish and slow.

"No, it's fine. You want some coffee?"

"Well, I should get back really. I told my parents I'd be sleeping at my friend's house, which I did… but then I snuck out and came here. I just couldn't resist a chance to see him. Isn't he a dreamboat? I'm Carol anyway."

"Cassie," I said, slightly glad that the rabbiting rabbit didn't want coffee. She sure didn't need it; she was hopping off the walls already.

"Gee Cassie, what happened to your neck? Are you OK? That looks really sore…"

"Oh, it's fine. Ace just seems to have a thing for sucking skin."

"Ace? You're with Ace Merrill? Wow. That's guy's trouble," she chuckled.

"Yeah… so I've been told."

"You know what he did on his 16th birthday? He took the guys joyriding in a police car. Can you believe it? A police car! Isn't that wild?"

"Actually, yeah I would believe it… Eyeball's not exactly a saint though, you know."

"Yeah, I know," she sighed. "My parents would ground me for life if they heard I was dating a Chambers, that's why I had to sneak out. Wow, I guess Ace must've finished it with Sarah then."

"Sarah?"

"Yeah, Sarah Bannerman. I guess she did mention the other day that she hadn't seen him in a while. Not since the day he promised to buy her dinner, but then never showed. Anyway, it's not surprising really. Ace never lasts long in relationships. Oh, sorry…"

"It's OK. Anyway, I'm so tired right now…" I stood and moved towards the door, trying to hint for her to leave.

"Wow, your parents must be too cool to let you have a party! Mine would never ever let me do that! Mine barely even let me out of the house! Where are your parents anyway?"

"My parents? Six feet under."

"Oh. Gee… sorry."

"It's OK," I said again, but a little more sternly this time.

"I'm sorry, I'm talking too much aren't I? My friends always tell me I do. Anyway, I'd just love to stay and chat some more, but I have to walk back to my friend's house and somehow climb up her drain pipe into her room, in this dress, and all before 7! Oh well. It was worth it."

"Yeah, sounded like it," I said in a mumbled laugh.

"My friends and I are going to the park for a picnic later, would you like to come?"

"Um… I'll pass thanks."

"Perhaps another time then?"

"Um… I've gotta get some sleep," I said, giving up on being courteous and ushering her out the door.

"Nice to meet you Cassie!" she said, waving to me as I closed the door in her face, barely restraining myself from slamming it.

"My god that girl was irritating," I whispered to myself, locking it in relief.

The house was a pigsty with glasses, cans and bottles everywhere, but I was too tired to care. I slogged my tired body into the bedroom, flopped down on my stomach and didn't even bother with covers. The peacefulness of being alone in the house felt like heaven. I lay there for a few moments, finally feeling myself falling into sleep… deeper… deeper… deeper. And then a light bulb suddenly went off in my head waking me up completely. _What did she just say…?_

* * *

**3**

It was a pretty shit six hour sleep after I realized that Ace could have been with someone else the whole time he'd been bugging and hanging around me, and probably even on the day we drove up to Hutt and had that intense make out session on the hood of his car. What would I do if he was actually still with this 'Sarah'? I never did get that feeling from him, and I'd been through it plenty of times before to know the signs. But then I began to wonder if that was why he seemed so distant just a couple of hours earlier.

It took an hour or more to get the house looking respectable again, and after a bite to eat I had an urge to get out for some fresh air and clear my head. So I made sure to wrap a scarf around my neck, grabbed some cash and took a stroll to the store a few blocks away.

After grabbing some milk and bread from the shelves, I stepped up to pay at the counter and a familiar voice spoke to me from behind.

"Hey," it said.

Knowing exactly who it was, my cheeks heated up with guilty blood and I hesitantly glanced over my shoulder, giving him a shaky smile. "Hey," I said back, trying but failing miserably to act like everything was normal.

Chris has a way of grounding me like no one else I've ever known. After one look, it's like he's reached up, grabbed both my ankles hanging out of the clouds, and yanked me down so hard that I've come plummeting back to earth at a million miles an hour. My lack of remorse for stealing from the liquor store, my lack of restraint and the indulgence I'd been allowing myself in the past weeks were finally on the reality check list.

I scanned the counter and grabbed a few other items to purchase – but what I was really buying, was more time. It was all very well acknowledging that I'd have to tell Chris, but now that it came down to it, I didn't know if I was ready to go through with it just yet. Especially since I hadn't given much thought to _'how'_ I'd tell him.

Awkwardly, I stepped out onto the sidewalk and waited for him while he bought his own items. He stepped out afterwards, staring at me curiously like he knew who I was but didn't really recognize me. Chris isn't stupid. He would've already known something was up for sure. But I made the snap-decision to hold off telling him right then and there; just for a few days while I deliberated over the 'how'. To me, doing it in the right way was of the utmost importance, and surely a few days wouldn't hurt…

I made sure to walk on his right side; the opposite side of the hickeys. Even though they were covered, I was still paranoid about them and almost certain that he'd be able to see through the cotton material just as well as he could see through me.

"I got another A. In History," he said, trying to spark up a conversation.

"That's great Chris. You just keep doing what you're doing and you'll go far." I talked stiffly, glancing sideways at him, trying but failing to act normal. The advice probably sounded as half-hearted as it was – I meant it of course, but I spoke a lot softer than usual and was noticeably more distant than he was used to.

"Cass, what's the matter?" he asked delicately. "You seem down. Ace hasn't been hassling you again has he?"

"No Chris, Ace hasn't been _hassling_ me," I replied with a slight quiver in my voice.

He eyed me dubiously like he'd figured out why I'd said it that way, but at the same time, second guessed himself and perhaps hoped he'd been mistaken. "Then what's wrong?"

"I've just got a lot on my mind. So where are you off to? Home?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

"Home? Fuck no. I'm err… I'm meeting this girl. April."

"You got a girlfriend? Way to go Chris," I smiled.

"But I'm meeting her at the park because her parents would go ballistic if they knew she was seeing _me_."

My heart sank and I really felt for him then. After Carol mentioned having the same problem with her parents, I was really starting to see the extent of the burden that these guys carried on their shoulders, just for being marked with the 'Chambers' brand.

I walked him to the entrance of the park and he stopped and turned to me with a serious look of concern in his eyes, just as he had when he warned me away from Ace all those weeks ago. "I guess I'll see you round," he said, suspiciously eyeing the scarf tied tightly around my neck. He would've known it wasn't like me to be bothered 'accessorizing' like that. "And by the way Cass, that scarf looks good on you."

"Thanks Chris," I said with an awkward sense of guilt in my voice. "See you 'round."


	12. Chapter 11: Life After Death

**Life After Death**

* * *

"Cass!" came a call from Ace's '52 Ford pickup as it slowed to a smooth roll on the opposite side of the road. My mind had been entwined in such deep thought about Chris's looks of suspicion that it took Ace a couple of calls and a horn to break my daze.

Still with jealous thoughts of this 'other girl' bugging me, I gingerly crossed the road to climb in next to him. As I closed the door we exchanged a brief glance and he instantly noticed that something was up.

"What's got your goat?" he asked, eyeing me suspiciously and putting the clutch into gear.

I just sat for a moment while he drove, thinking about whether I should just come out with it and ask him or not. I wanted to ask him, but was worried about how he'd react to me 'questioning' him. But then, on the other hand, for all I knew he could've been cheating us both. But what if I accused him and he wasn't? What if Carol the 'rabbiting rabbit' was wrong? One thing was for sure though, once I let the question slip from my lips, there would be no chance of taking it back.

For a moment there, I was going to drop it… I could've dropped it… I should've dropped it. _Don't say it Cass_, I begged myself. But then, as always, my mouth opened anyway… and fucked everything up.

"Who's Sarah?" I almost thought I'd asked too quietly for him to hear me over the rowdy V8, but he heard alright – loud and clear.

"Sarah?" he snickered with a careless grin. "She's history, that's what she is."

"Not too distant history by the sounds of it. I heard you were still with her even up to a week ago."

"Who the fuck've you been talking to?"

"Does it matter? Just tell me if it's true."

"Yeah OK, so what?"

"Ace! Last week on the hood of your car you weren't exactly holding back. You would've had me there and then if that nosey neighbor hadn't interrupted us. That's two-timing!"

"You got nothin' to worry about OK? Come here," he said, waving me to move closer to him. But my stubbornness wouldn't let him charm his way out of this one.

"No, not 'til I know you're being straight up with me. Don't play games with me Ace. I've been through that kinda bullshit plenty of times before and I really can't be bothered with it."

"Cass, she's gone OK? I went round there and dropped her just now."

"Just now? Like… five minutes ago?"

"Five minutes ago, last week, what's the fuckin' difference? Look, sometimes I've just got more important shit to deal with."

"Oh, nice to know we're so high up on your list of fuckin' priorities!"

"Well what do you want me to say! Huh?" he shouted, slamming his palms down on the steering wheel in frustration. "What do you want me to say Cass?"

"I just… want to you to admit that it's wrong, and you don't seem to give two flying fucks!"

He violently slammed his foot down on the breaks in disgust, so hard that I jolted forwards, grabbing the dash in panic and smacking my head hard on the windscreen.

"You are one pig-headed bitch aren't you Cassie?"

"You better fuckin' believe it," I said rubbing my forehead and giving him the evil eye. I clambered out of the truck and slammed the door so hard behind me that I think I almost broke the window wound down inside it.

"After everything I've fuckin' done for you girl!" he yelled at me from the cab as I stomped off. But as soon as those words left his mouth I stopped in my tracks and realized… he was right. My stubborn pride melted off me like a wax coating, leaving me feeling stark and defenseless. He _had_ done a lot for me with helping to piece together those lost few months. If he hadn't done that I don't think I ever would've found answers.

And with that, I suddenly realized that out of blind jealousy I'd blown things way out of proportion. If he wanted me and only me, then what difference did it make that he'd dumped her after starting something with me? After all, isn't it just a stupid technicality? Anyway, he was right to think I was making a mountain out of a molehill, and I felt like a complete idiot. But it was too late.

He peeled out on the hot, dry street, kicking up smoke and leaving me standing on the sidewalk sniffing in burnt rubber. I swallowed a hard lump of guilt as I watched his pickup fade away into the distance, suddenly feeling more alone than I did before I knew him.

But over the next few weeks I had little time to think about Ace, because they were to bring forward even more pressing challenges; challenges so dramatic that they could send me plummeting right back down into the bottom of the hole.

* * *

Monday the 30th of May 1960. I keep that date stored away in the back of my mind as a reminder that we need to make the most of every moment of our lives. Because eventually, time runs out.

Usually, Rose and Violet were well into prep by the time I arrived at the diner in the mornings, but on that day, there was no huge pot of soup on the boil, no roasts in the oven and even more unusually, no chat and natter. The kitchen was empty and the diner was eerily quiet.

I stepped out the back, over their little white picket gate and knocked softly on the door, calling their names. There was no answer, which sent a chilling worry down my spine. I turned the knob and pushed the door of their prim little house open to see Violet sitting at her dining table, silently staring at the floor.

"Violet, what's the matter?"

She glanced up at me with her big blue eyes, reddened from a lack of sleep. Her face was ghostly white and she looked like she'd aged ten years over night. Her mouth opened to tell me, but she couldn't bring herself to utter the words. A strange sinking feeling plunged into the pit of my gut as I realized what was wrong. Overcome with emotion, I dropped onto my knees in front of her. I reached out to wrap my arms around her tiny waist and her apron soon became drenched with tears as I lay my head in her lap, bawling my eyes out.

After eighty years of having her twin sister close to her through childhood, though their marriages, through life, she was suddenly without her.

The diner was closed for the week as we made preparations for the funeral and for the funeral to take place. I stayed with her to look after her because she was so devastated and exhausted that I just couldn't bear to leave her alone.

We reopened the diner on the following Monday, but that morning it was clear to me that Violet's working days were over. The diner was something that the two of them had built up together and now that one of them was gone, it seemed pointless for the other to continue on. Later that day, she confirmed my fears. She told me she'd decided it was best for her to sell up and move to Nevada to live with her daughter.

As soon as the Diner went up for sale, offers poured in left right and center. Their small house out the back would be sold with it, making it an attractive buy for out-of-towners. I stayed with Violet through that time too, doing my best to support her as strangers invaded her tiny house full of fond memories. But as that was all going on a great fear was beginning to awaken within me – the diner was being sold, but would the new owners keep me on?

Nearly four weeks after Rose passed away Violet handed her keys over to new blood in the town. Unfortunately for me, they were a family of four with two teenagers who were more than capable of helping their middle aged parents with the running of the diner.

On that same day, Violet climbed up onto the bus with tears in her eyes, telling me she'd ring me as soon as she arrived in Nevada. I gave her one last hug as she stood on the step above me, and thanked her again for everything she had done for me. Then I took a step back and the bus drove off in the heat of the summer sun with dust swirling up behind it. That was the last time I ever saw her.

* * *

Portland… as I pounded the pavement looking for work, that was the place I started to see as my Plan B.

During the weeks it took to sell the Diner I had seriously worked on getting some savings together, but had only managed to save enough to cover three weeks of power and food bills – even after restricting myself on luxuries. At least I still had Violets house; she'd offered to let me off paying rent until I found another job. However, she did warn me that when she passed away her family would likely want to sell it – and seeing how suddenly Rose went, that was another lingering worry.

As well as saving money, I'd spent a lot of time scouring the streets, and asking anyone with a business if they had any positions available. The responses I got were a lot more positive than the first time around months earlier, however, it seemed that work in a sleepy town like Castle Rock still wasn't easy to come by. But two days after Violet left town, as I was disappointedly exiting the local jewelry store, a familiar face gave me a small glimmer of hope.

"Charlie…"

"Cassie… what you up to? I heard your old lady kicked the bucket," he said blatantly, strutting up to me on the sidewalk with his fists jammed into his jean pockets. It's OK… I realize he doesn't know any better.

"Lookin' for work," I sighed, staring at the pavement in shame. "I'm broke. The diner's sold and none of these assholes'll give me a job." The old man in the jewelry store heard me and gave me a disgusted look; I'm sure he would've been thanking his lucky starts he didn't employ me then. "If I can't find anything in the next few days, I might have to leave town."

"So ask Ace if he knows someone," he shrugged.

"Erm… I don't think so. Don't you know we had a massive argument?"

"Yeah, I heard. And he's been in a fuckin' shitty ever since. Almost broke my arm the other day for spillin' beer on his floor!"

"So, you think it's 'cos he's still pissed at me? Fair enough I guess…" I really wished he'd had better news.

"So when you goin' 'round there to patch stuff up?"

"While he hates me? Fuck that…"

"He don't hate you… just go 'round there."

"What if he flips out?"

"He ain't gonna flip out. Trust me."

"Charlie… you just said he nearly broke your arm…"

"Look you gotta go," he said, suddenly pleading. "Life's fuckin' hell when Ace is in a shitty mood. You made him like that, you fuckin' fix it!"

"Fine," I sighed. "I'll go see him…"

"Ace'll have contacts, he'll get you somethin'. You ain't got nothin' to lose anyhow."

"Yeah, maybe…"

"Don't take your time gettin' over there," he called back as he walked off. "Ace won't wait forever you know."

* * *

I'd been out to Ace's a couple of times before, but only briefly. With no car, I spent an hour walking across town in the blistering summer heat after Charlie conned me into it… OK fine… maybe I wanted to go anyway, and he'd finally given me an excuse. Despite all that had gone on over the last few life changing weeks, my stupid idiotic mistake had lingered in the back of my mind. So many times I'd tried to pluck up the courage to go find Ace and apologize, but I couldn't bring myself to go through with it. Then as the weeks went by, hope slipped further and further from me as I imagined him easily moving on again.

He wasn't home when I arrived. His pickup truck sat parked out the front of his shed, so that meant he'd be out in his '49. I sat on the end of his front deck for about half an hour pulling out the blades of grass that grew through the gaps in the wood. Gaps? OK… maybe more like ravines. It was a serene moment though; the sun was setting in the west to my right and it shone golden rays over the side of house, giving it a look of beauty despite all its flaws. The main highway, which was in my sight to my right at the top of the gravel drive, was dead quiet and I could hear nothing but birds and a soft rush of wind through the trees that surrounded the property.

Just as I pulled out the last blade of grass, I heard the familiar sound of a V8 peeling it up the highway. I listened intently as moments later Ace's '49 Ford Custom pulled into the driveway and boisterously rumbled down over the gravel, with a hard handbrake skidding it to a snaky stop.

"So. Look who's finally come crawling back," Ace said, clunking the heavy door of the Ford closed behind him. "I must admit, it took you longer than I expected."

Casually rolling a toothpick between his lips, he stepped up onto the crappy old deck and walked staunchly past me without as much as a glance. This was his way of putting me on a guilt trip and I tell you, it was working a treat. He pushed his front door open with a loud rusty screech. He didn't invite me in, but I followed hesitantly anyway, brooding behind in his steps like a faithful pet who knew she'd done wrong. The 'shitty mood' Charlie mentioned was obviously still lingering over him like a dead weight, so I reminded myself to be careful not say anything that might set him off. The last thing I wanted was another 'episode' like the one in the diner that day – Eyeball wasn't around to save me this time.

I'd only been in the house once before but it still felt familiar to me. It's a medium sized place with the kitchen at the front, a small dining table that you need to walk around to get through to the lounge, and the bedrooms and bathroom at the far end. My nose felt instantly dry from taking breaths of stuffy summer air, made stale from the house being closed up all day. I couldn't help open a few windows, even the one with a baseball sized hole in it; just so I didn't feel like I was sitting in a sauna. Once I could breathe again, I sat down on his ripped sofa, slouching forwards, eyeing him closely and staying wary about his mood.

"Bumped into Charlie just before," he said, grabbing a beer from the fridge. "He said you're out of a job."

He strolled into the lounge and sat on the arm of the sofa right-angled to mine, taking a swig from his beer and rolling his toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other.

"Yeah… I'll be moving back to Portland if I can't find anything in the next couple of weeks. I've got nowhere to go there, so I'll just have to wing it… again."

"So it's that bad huh?"

"Yep," I sighed and nodded in shame. "That bad."

"So…"

"So… I didn't wanna ask you," I started, almost begging myself to pull out. "But Charlie said you might be able to pull some strings somewhere."

"So that's why you're here? Because you want _me_ to do _you_ a favor?"

A tiny smirk found the corner of my lip and gave a small laugh, wishing that I'd listened to myself instead of Charlie. "You're right, I shouldn't have come." I stood up to leave, but he pushed down on my shoulder, forcing me to sit again.

"That's not the only reason you came though is it?"

"Right again… you're on a roll." No laugh from me this time. I was actually feeling ready to pound my head against the wall – admitting you're sorry to anyone can be painful enough, but when it's to Ace Merrill… you may as well be resigning your life over to him.

"I'm listening."

"I might have overreacted with the whole 'Sarah' thing. It just… caught me off guard I guess."

"Might have?"

"OK… I totally overreacted."

"Cass, if you wanna talk priorities, look at what I've fuckin' done for you. I went out of my way to find out all that shit about what happened to you. I spent a day taking you all the way up there and back."

"I know, and that was huge. Amazing. It really meant a lot to me. I know I get hot-headed sometimes and as soon as I said what I did, I regretted it."

"I know that meant a lot to you. And so the way I see it, it's _you_ who owes _me_ a favor."

"OK… you say that like you've already got something in mind…"

"I need a couple of errands run."

"Errands, what kinda errands?"

"The kind that pays well. Really fuckin' well. Do this for me and I'll pay you part profit."

"OK…" I said, remaining cautious. "Does it involve breaking into anywhere?"

"Nope."

"Does it involve stolen goods of any kind?"

"Nope."

"Sounds good so far; how much are we talking?"

"$250 a week for two weeks. Two nights a week, probably take you around an hour a night."

"So… $125 an hour? That's insane…"

"So you want it or not?"

"I'm sorry Ace, you're gonna have to be more specific…"

"I ain't saying shit 'til you agree."

"OK… so just tell me. Am I gonna regret this?"

"No way," he said with a subtle grin. "In fact, you'll fuckin love me for it."

"Oh really? Love you?" I scoffed, raising my eyebrows with a sarcastic smirk. "I doubt that somehow."

"Go on Cass," he said, his eyes narrowing deviously. "Show me what you got."

He watched me intently as I turned his offer over in my mind. The deal was dubious as fuck, that's for sure – but I needed the money and since he 'assured' me that I could trust him, I decided to roll with it.

"Alright then, I'll play your little game. Now what do you want me to do?"

"Not so fast."

"What do you mean? I just agreed!"

"I know you agreed," he said cunningly. "And now there's a couple of things I wanna sort out with you before I give you the details."

"You never mentioned a catch…"

He'd had me interested and hungry for the money moments earlier, but what he said next made me flip sides so quick that he should've had something to regret himself. If he was anyone but Ace, that is.

"What's this I hear about you helping Chris out at school? I thought I told you to stay the fuck away from him."

"Chris?" I said in surprise; that was the last thing I was expecting him to say. "Well, maybe listening to bullying bastards isn't too high up on _my_ priority list."

"OK, have it your way. But since you've already agreed to this job, you're gonna have listen up."

"What do you mean? Are you saying this has something to do with Chris directly?"

"Well, that's the million dollar question ain't it?"

"What are you doing to Chris, Ace?" I was growing more and more concerned with every word.

"Nothin'. Except keeping his mouth shut. And I can't risk you hangin' around him and squawkin' out more than he already knows."

"Jesus… this doesn't have anything to do what happened in the alleyway that day does it?"

"That's exactly what this has to do with."

"No way Ace. I ain't siding with you if you're involving Chris in this. You said I wouldn't regret agreeing to it and now you've just broken your own terms. So, deals off." I stood up from the couch and went to leave, but he quickly rose from his sofa and put his hand on my arm to stop me.

"Hold it. I think you're missing the point."

"Oh and what point might that be exactly? That you're trying to get me to shit on someone who means more to me than my own mother ever did?"

"You've been shitting on Chris ever since you started smoochin' up to me, haven't you? What? Did you think he was never gonna find out about us?"

"That was different…"

"Oh really? How?"

I searched every inch of my brain for an answer; every little nook and cranny. But he was right. Again. I guess there was a slight difference; at least Chris would've been given a choice of whether to hate me or not, rather than me blatantly telling him to.

"The point you're missing is that you're runnin' out of options. If you don't take the job, you'll run out of money, leave town, and never see Chris again. Or, you take the job, stay, and see Chris though plate glass. Your choice."

"You're a shit Ace," I whispered, kicking myself. I loved that little bugger like a brother and the only way I could keep an eye on things and protect him would be to stay in Castle Rock. But to stay in Castle Rock, I'd need money. No money, and I'd be buying a one way ticket to Portland.

"How 'bout another little incentive? Half upfront." He reached for his wallet in his back pocket and cunningly pulled it out, opening it to count $250 and folding it in a wad. "Two weeks ain't the end of the line either. You do good and I'll line you up with more, no problem." He held out the money with a glint in his eye like he had me right where he wanted me. "Take it Cass."

The wad felt thick between my fingers as I cautiously grasped it and pulled it from his.

"Good girl. Now, I'm gonna make a phone call and you're gonna stay put."

I moved into the kitchen and stared blankly out the smashed window above the sink, feeling like I'd just made a deal with the devil. And then I realized… making a deal with Ace _is_ like making a deal with the devil. But what spun my head more than anything was that I was going out on a limb for Ace by sacrificing my friendship with Chris… and in turn was going out on a limb for Chris to protect him from Ace.

Ace's phone call was fast and I glanced over my shoulder to see him strut into the kitchen, approaching me from behind with that devilish grin I'd been missing for so long.

"So. That's business over with." A thin bolt of desire shot through me as he slid his arms around my waist and gently pulled me back into his chest. "Now there's one other thing I wanna sort out with you."

"I'm not really in the mood," I said, trying but failing to resist becoming incredibly turned on as he reached down to undo the zipper on my jeans. I guess I was playing hard to get after hearing him tell me to stay away from Chris again. But looking at things from Ace's point of view, I could understand why he was being so cautious. He didn't know me very well at all, and if this 'dodgy' stuff he was up to was serious (which of course it would be with that amount of money involved), then he'd be stupid to let me in on something like that and risk letting any of it accidently slip through the cracks of conversation.

My playing hard to get didn't last long though. With one hand snaking down the front of my panties and the light brush of his stubble grazing against my neck, it didn't take much effort for him to win me over. "Oh yeah? Doesn't feel that way to me. You're fuckin' soaking."

I tilted my head slightly as the wetness of his tongue rode up my neck, before a pain of intense suction had me clutching at the sides of his jeans. "Ace, please. The last one took over a week to heal…"

He released the suction and ran the tip of his nose up behind my ear, sending a divine shiver through my chest. "Just shut up, and relax." He slipped two fingers into me and grasped my neck in his mouth again, even more vicious this time, as if punishing me for begging him for mercy. My abdomen curdled with pleasure at his acts of control. The feeling of being so powerless in his grasp aroused me to the core.

I was relishing in the feeling of being in his embrace again; I'd never forgotten the one intense night that Ace and I had spent together, and that was my biggest regret about letting him go. No one had ever felt as good as Ace felt, and no one had ever given it to me as hard and as satisfying as he did. The addiction I had felt for him was easily being rekindled, and despite learning that there was some dodgy things going on with him, I couldn't deny that I still craved for more.

After he'd finished creating another decent sized bruise on my neck, I felt a pop as his mouth finally released me. His hands slipped out from my jeans, leaving a trail of my juices streaked up across my belly.

Hooking a finger in on either side of my jeans, he slid his hands over my hips, gliding it all down to form a pool around my ankles. He then slid his hands up my sides to pull my shirt over my head, before pinching the hooks off my bra and letting it drop on the floor in front of me. He spun me around to face him and then, with a hand on either hip, effortlessly picked me up and sat me on the bench behind giving my warm bum a cold shock of stainless steel.

With a fiendish look in his eyes, he glimpsed over every inch of my naked body, making me feel vulnerable at his dominant hand. I grasped the edge of his shirt and went to pull it up off him, but he grabbed my wrists to stop me, demanding to keep me inferior and at his mercy. Grabbing both my ankles, he pushed them up onto the bench forcing me to lean back on my hands.

I closed my eyes as he went down on me, moaning in pleasure as his tongue reminded me of its expert skills and his fingers probed me like little mini pistons. He plunged into me deeper, hitting the right spot exactly, making me roll my hips around on the bench in ecstasy. "Don't you dare stop," I panted, "that feels incredible." Not that I had to tell him with words; I'm sure my contorted face and writhing body told him exactly how I was feeling. He knew darn well that he had me sitting right on the verge of glory and was about to push me over the edge.

"I ain't gonna stop," he said bluntly. "I want you to cum all over my fuckin' fingers."

That brief word of dirty talk kicked me over the threshold. My muscles tightened as waves of orgasm made me cry out in bliss and he knew the exact place to hold to prolong it.

"Fuck you're good," I groaned as I came down from the intense high. But I was nowhere near the point of being completely satisfied yet. And neither was he.

Grabbing me around the waist, he pulled me off the bench and swung me around to lay me down on the kitchen table behind. "You know, if you leave me high and dry for a month you'll pay the price in the end."

"You mean you haven't… been with anyone since…"

"Like I said before," he said hastily undoing his belt. "I knew you'd come crawling back eventually."

A slight breeze on my arm made me gasp when I realized the front door, which was right beside the table I was lying on, was still wide open from when we'd come in. There'd be a low chance of anyone seeing from the low traffic highway, but if anyone came down the drive it'd be a different story. "Ace, can you shut the front door? It's wide open…"

"Just shut your mouth and spread your legs."

A small whimper of pleasure escaped my mouth as he leaned over and pushed his way in. He started thrusting in deeper at a steady pace and I spread my legs as wide as I could stretch them. An intense moan made its way up through my throat as he touched me with his expert fingers again.

"That's right Cass, you moan – I'm gonna make you fuckin' scream."

He grabbed my calves and held them as he began brutally pounding me. The powerful force ran my blood so hot that I thought it might char my skin from the inside, and my heart hammered in my chest so intensely that I worried for a moment that I might go into cardiac arrest. As I felt myself reaching my second climax I strapped my arm across my mouth and bit down into it, but it didn't muffle much. Ace had told me to scream, and I screamed… I screamed out his name like my life depended on it. It almost sounded inhuman, even to my own ears.

He buckled over top of me as he came, then slowed down and slyly watched the blatant grin spread across my face. He smiled wickedly down at me like he knew I hadn't only made a deal with the devil; I'd just sold my soul to the devil – I'd sold my soul to him.

"You tell me Cass," he said bitterly, leaning on the table, hovering over me close. "Why the fuck would I need anyone else when you keep puttin' out like that?"

Then he got off me and strutted towards the bathroom, leaving me hyperventilating on the table with that bitter-sweet question riding my mind…


	13. Chapter 12: Appear to Disappear

**Appear to Disappear**

* * *

Four times in two hours at his, then twice more at mine… can you fucking believe it? The guy's relentless. Tireless. Insatiable! I thought I had stamina when it comes to sex… but I ain't got nothing on this guy. After three mind-blowing times at his place, he wanted another one. And so I just let him go for it even though I was already completely spent. After that one I finally managed to convince him to let me go home for a shower… and he got me again then too. Once in the shower, once more against the bathroom wall.

I mean, I never complained - not during anyway - but my body was surely feeling the aftereffects of it all. My muscles felt weak and pathetic, my back was strained, my knees were aching and he'd rubbed me raw. I'd paid the price just like he told me I would; I was still paying the price. He'd worn me down good.

Just as I indulged in the idea of letting my exhausted body collapse for a quiet night at home, Ace decided it was time to head into the local pool hall, Irby's Billiards, to quench his other thirst and maybe kick back with a couple of games. I was learning fast that a 'quiet night in' just isn't Ace's style.

I'd just slipped into some fresh jeans and a thin singlet when he came up behind me in my bedroom, and started snogging the bruised skin on my neck. "Come on Cass," he said, trying to grease me up. "Come have a beer with the guys."

"Ace, I'm knackered…" I said a little sternly. "I need sleep."

"Well, I ain't comin' back here after," he said, becoming a little sterner himself. "So if you wanna know what you'll be doin' for me tomorrow night, then you'd better come with me."

"So why don't you just tell me now?" I whined.

"I'll tell you when I'm good 'n ready. Now get in the fucking car."

So, there it was. Dying for rest and being dragged out on the drink again. I didn't care so much about what he had planned for me the following night; what was bugging me was that Chris was somehow involved and I wanted to find out how as soon as possible. But I had a hunch that he wasn't hauling me along just so he could tell me what would be happening, or so that I could be all buddy-buddy with his friends. He just wanted me to be there for when he wanted me next. And despite how sore I was, I knew that I would probably give-in.

* * *

The parking strip along the road out the front of Irby's was surprisingly full for a Tuesday night and we took the last space available. While I waited up on the empty sidewalk for Ace, who was searching the car for his cigarettes, my attention drew towards the Blue Point Diner, just two doors up.

The place looked so familiar and yet seemed so foreign. It was closed up for the night, sitting silent and still, and yet in my head I could still see and hear all that had filled the diner with life, every day I'd worked there. The hubbub of chat, Rose and Violet's cheerful laughter, Chris's grateful smirk as I snuck him samples of Rose's new sweet concoctions; all were still so vivid to me. And strangely, I felt comforted by the thought that I could no longer work there under the new owners… because it would never be the same again. I gave a quiet smile to the thoughts of fond memories before Ace slung his arm around my neck to lead me away.

As we approached Irby's the door was suddenly pulled in from the other side. A short brawny red-headed guy staggered out, and when he saw Ace his tired eyes widened a little in surprise. He acted awkwardly and uncomfortable at first, as if Ace was the last person he wanted to bump into. But then strangely, as soon as he set eyes on me, a shady smirk formed at the corner of his lips and he batted it away as if trying to remain casual. He looked so familiar, but it took a few seconds to put my finger on where I'd seen him before.

"Thomas," Ace said. "What are you doin' down this way?"

"Oh, hey Ace… nuthin' much," he replied as he squirmed past us. His eyes stayed fixated on me which seemed overly odd and even a little creepy. "See you round."

"What was up with him?" I whispered close to Ace's ear as we watched Thomas stagger down the sidewalk into the darkness. He glanced back a couple of times which added to the creepy feelings, and I clutched Ace tighter, glad to have him with me right then. "Isn't that the guy from Hutt?"

"Yeah," Ace frowned suspiciously. "Anyway… let's go get hammered."

With his arm still cloaked around my neck, he led me in through the hazy smoke of the pool hall. Jerry Lee Lewis's version of the Hank Williams song, "You Win Again", played nonchalantly on the jukebox at the back of the room over the hubbub of conversation and billiard balls clinking together. People seemed to cluster by their age groups; the middle aged guys hogged the four pool tables in the center of the room, while the old men sat sullenly around the rustic bar watching a game of baseball on a television above them. The younger generation sat huddled in the booths which ran against the left wall – the youngest being Billy, Charlie, Eyeball and Vince who were hidden in the very last booth near the back.

Heads turned towards us as we made our way over to the guys. The young whispered amongst each other, seemingly interested to know who was on Ace's arm this time, the guys around the pool tables freed one up for Ace to save him 'asking' for one, and the old guys eyed me seedily which gave me the creeps. The bartender's agitated stare followed us the whole way across the room; he knew darn well we were all underage, but he let it slide as he always did. When people say Ace and his gang do what they want in this town, they mean it.

Vince and Billy sat on one side of the booth, while Eyeball and Charlie sat on the other. There was enough room for both Ace and I to fit in on either side, but Ace had other ideas.

"Move your ass Billy," Ace said sternly.

Billy obeyed without complaint and shifted over to the other side next to Charlie and Eyeball. I let Ace slide in next to Vince, so I wouldn't have to sit next to him, and I slid in next to Ace, welcoming his arm around my neck again. Vince and Eyeball were sitting opposite each other, playing drinking games – as usual – across the table, and it seemed that Eyeball was losing… badly. The game was simple enough: Vince was flipping a coin and calling heads or tails. If he got it right, Eyeball had to drink. If he got it wrong, he was supposed to drink. But I never saw him get it wrong…

"You're gonna fuckin' luth this time," Eyeball slurred unsteadily as he took another swig.

Vince flipped and held out his arm, covering the coin on his hand. "Tails!" he called enthusiastically.

Bursts of laughter rang out among the other guys as Vince revealed the correct call once again; tails it was… Eyeball had to drink. I watched carefully as Vince flipped and continued on his winning streak, steadily slaughtering Eyeball into a state of disrepair. _Clever Vince…_ I thought; I knew this move. Feel the underside of the coin with your thumb before your place it on your hand. If it's rough, heads is on top. If it's smooth, tails is on top. That's one way to get your pal written off while the night's still young.

"Fuck you man!" Eyeball protested in a pouting scowl. "Why don't I ever get to fuckin' flip?"

"Here then loser," Vince said, tossing it to him.

Eyeball was so drunk by that time that he flipped it up but was too uncoordinated to catch it again. It dropped between his legs, fell down under the table and rolled across the floor.

"That's a fuckin' vessel! " Vince blared, abruptly standing and pointing down at Eyeball, catching the attention of the entire room. "Come on Eyeball you pussy! Suck back that whole fuckin' bottle!"

"Get fucked ya cock-knocker!" Eyeball huffed, throwing his middle finger up at Vince. He may've been irritated about losing, but he still avidly downed his drink, enjoying every mouthful of it.

"So who's buyin' the next round?" Ace asked. "I've been workin' up a thirst tonight," he said, eyeing me over, "and I ain't done yet." The guys suddenly zipped it and all tried to keep a low profile so they wouldn't be picked. "Billy. You're on the end, your shout."

"Man… I always buy the fuckin' drinks," he grumbled, reluctantly standing to reach for the wallet in his back pocket.

"Well, you're on the fuckin' end! If any of these other douchebags were on the end they'd be buying wouldn't they?" That's Ace all over; making up the rules as he goes along and then enforcing them like they're an 'official' thing.

Billy grudgingly brought back six beers and slid them onto the table. Needless to say, I was the only one who thought to say, "Thanks."

Ace's first round was guzzled down without a stop for breath and he instantly demanded another one. "I'm out Billy, move it. Actually, make it two," he said, grabbing mine and chugging the rest of that back as well.

After the third round, I felt a little sorry for Billy and wanted to flick him five bucks from the cash Ace had paid me earlier. But I had a strong feeling that if I gave Billy the money openly, Ace would try to stop me from letting him off the hook. So while Ace was distracted in some 'serious' conversation with Vince about head gaskets, I snuck the money out of my pocket and tried to secretly slide it to Billy under the table. But when I discreetly tapped him on the knee, he gave me such a look of surprise and unease that I thought he'd blow it for sure. Three attempts and a kick in the shin later, Billy finally realized that I wasn't in fact trying to come onto him, but trying to pay him…

During round four, courtesy of Billy, Charlie's face started to look noticeably more and more uncomfortable.

"What's the matter Charlie?" Ace asked, knowing very well what the matter was.

"Nothin'," Charlie strained as he tried to hold it in.

"Haha!" Billy laughed vengefully. "Drinks are on you next asshole!"

Charlie winced as he tried to hold it, but finally gave in to agony. "Fuck this, lemme out…"

Billy couldn't contain his happiness as Charlie slid out, and I thought his smile couldn't get any wider until Eyeball slid out after him. "Quick, move!" Eyeball shouted. "Gotta beat the bastard back!"

The two of them rushed into the bathroom as Billy smugly secured his seat, far against the wall. We all watched with anticipation to see whose head would peek out of the loo's first. Charlie's spiky blond hair peeked first followed by Eyeball's curly brown mop at a close second place.

"Fuck off Eyeball!" Charlie called back, holding his arm out to defend his position. Eyeball grabbed the rear of Charlie's T-shirt and almost tore it as he dug his heels in, trying to hold him back. The two then bolted for the booth and reached the opening at exactly the same time, brutishly pushing and pulling each other, both intensely determined to win. With a punch to the guts from Charlie, Eyeball doubled forwards a little, giving Charlie a tiny advantage which was just enough to allow him to shove his way through into the booth first.

"Ha! Eyeball, you loser!" Charlie taunted.

"Oh yeah?" sneered Eyeball as he reluctantly took the end seat. "Think that's fuckin' funny? Well I think this is fuckin' hilarious." He reached in and punched Charlie in the guts, doubly as hard, making his face contort as he grabbed his stomach in agony.

"Cut it out kiddies," said Ace coolly. "Not in front of the lady." He then chugged down the rest of his beer and rudely let out a loud belch before turning his gaze to Eyeball. "Looks like I'm out. Come on Eyeball, quit holdin' out on us."

"Fine," said Eyeball, reluctantly standing to a wobble. "Fuck, where's my wallet?" He patted his back pockets but it was clear for us to see they were empty.

"I hope you're not just trying to get out of buying a round," laughed Charlie.

"It's probably in your shit heap of a car," mocked Vince.

"Fuck, I dunno," said Eyeball, looking slightly worried. "Maybe I dropped it in the bathroom."

"Do you want me to go look in your car?" I offered, keen to get a breath of fresh air at the same time.

"Yeah OK. I'll go look in the bathroom."

"So which ones yours?" I slid out from Ace's arm and took a step in the direction of the front door.

"Out the back."

"You'll know it when you see it," Ace grinned, sliding out after me and moving towards the pool table that was habitually freed up for him when we arrived. "Vince. Rack 'em up."

* * *

The back street behind Irby's had only one street light, but I could easily make out Eyeball's rust bucket in line behind three other cars. The long, wide, dusty path of dirt is shared by all stores on the block, including the Blue Point Diner, and is well used by Irby's customers for parking anything that wouldn't be deemed road worthy. Running along the opposite side are the backyards to a row of houses; one of them being Rose and Violets old place.

I'd been through that back street so many times that I felt completely comfortable there, even if it was 10 at night and near pitch black. I strolled over to Eyeball's bomb, which was waiting patiently for its heavily intoxicated owner to drive it home, and clunked the driver's side door open. Crawling in over the seat on my hands and knees, I felt around for anything that felt wallet sized. The glove box reeked of pot and I felt the spongy bag full of it, but alas, no wallet. I felt down under the seats and there was so much crap under there that I decided that was pointless. I checked all over the front seat, back seat, on the dash, but there was nothing and so I decided that he must've left it in the bathroom after all. As I shuffled backwards along the seat, on my hands and knees, I was suddenly startled by a raw raspy voice from behind.

"Well fuck me."

I sharply twisted my head around to see a broad-shouldered guy in a black T-shirt and grubby black jeans sneering at me through dark disdainful eyes. He had a flat-top military style haircut and some handsome features to his face, but they were all buried under a hoard of pure hate. I shuffled out fully, and warily clunked the rusty door closed behind me, thoroughly looking him over and near certain that he must have the wrong person.

"So it's true. Here you are."

"Do I know you?"

"Don't play games with me Cassie. What makes your tiny brain think I'd believe you don't know who I am?"

I suddenly felt very alone and vulnerable as daunting suspicions grew about who he might be. I began to slowly edge my way along Eyeball's car in the direction of Irby's back door, but he lunged at me and savagely seized me by the arm, twisting the skin to make me wince.

"You really think I'd just let you leave after what you did to me?" he said through gritted teeth, twisting my arm even tighter with his sturdy hand.

"I don't know you… I don't remember anything," I stammered. There was now no doubt in my mind about who he was. This was the guy Ace warned me about... this was my ex-boyfriend.

Irby's back door closed, catching us unawares and we both turned our heads towards it in unison. To his reprieve and my distress, there was nobody there. I opened my mouth to scream, but before I could barely let half a second of it out, he violently yanked my wrist to pull me out in front of him and got behind me, strapping a grimy hand over my mouth.

"Cassie, Cassie, Cassie. I thought you'd know better than to think you can get away from me."

He turned me around, facing me towards the end of the back street and shoved me forwards, holding my mouth tightly with his right hand and with his left arm across my chest. The danger of the darkness ahead made my blood run cold. I struggled to get out of his grip, struggled to scream, but he was far too strong for me to have any chance of doing either.

"What is with you? You know what happens when you struggle." His left arm released from around my chest and he hastily reached into his back pocket. The snap of a switchblade made me flinch and I soon felt the coolness of the sharp blade on my cheekbone.

"Now come with me quietly or I'm gonna pop one of those pretty browns of yours onto the pavement."

Panic trembled through me as he steadily strode me forwards towards the darkness, probably for attempt number two at killing me. My mind was in such distress that I didn't even hear the sound of the back door to Irby's close once more... but _he_ did. While still holding me tightly, he twisted his head around to see who was there, and then twisted the rest of his body around, swinging me with him.

Ace, Vince and Eyeball strolled coolly towards us (well, Eyeball swaying with a brew in one hand). The three stopped a few yards away under the street light, calm, casual, and yet with an aura of ruthlessness. Ace stood in the center slightly out in front with his fists clenched tightly by his sides, as did Vince. Eyeball wore a roguish grin as he eagerly awaited to see his buddies take this guy down. Words cannot describe how ecstatic and relieved I was to see them, but I wasn't out of the woods just yet.

"Lewis," Ace said smugly. His composed voice spoke softly and yet I could see in his eyes that he just couldn't wait to rip this guy apart.

"This don't concern you Ace. What are you doin' pokin' your nose into other people's business?"

"Come on now Lewis, you know better than to talk to _me_ like that. Besides, that's my girl you've got your filthy mitts all over there, so I say it does concern me."

Lewis seethed at me in disgust. "You fuckin' slut."

"Come on Lewis, gimme the girl."

"No way Ace, you don't know how much trouble this bitch has caused me."

"Yeah. I do." He said that to Lewis, and yet it was me he was looking in the eyes.

Lewis's hand still restrained me from speaking and so all I could do was use my eyes and eyebrows to say to Ace, "What the fuck?"

"I know Diego gave you a whole lotta gear to manufacture coke for him, but a week later you told him it got ripped off. But it didn't get ripped off, did it? You just shipped it out of town so you could cut him out of the deal. I always knew you were a shifty fuck."

Lewis's body turned ridged behind me as he became more and more agitated with each passing word.

"I also know how Diego found out the truth," Ace said, pausing to take a breath. "She snitched on you."

"I what?" I mumbled under his hand. "Holy fuck!" A chilling shiver ran down my spine as I learnt Lewis's motivations. That's why he tried to kill me, and that's why he was still as intent as ever on killing me now. But what I couldn't understand was why the fuck Ace hadn't told me any of this earlier.

"So you'll let me take her then," Lewis said optimistically. "I'm sure you of all people know the price of betrayal. Diego will get his revenge on me I'm sure, but you can't stop me from getting mine."

"It's not that simple. It wasn't just Diego you shat on, that gear you stole was mine. Now where do you think _that_ leaves us?"

Lewis's grip on me loosened a little as he realized just how much shit he was in. He was already in over his head with Diego and _his_ boys looking for him, but having Ace after him too was just another nail in the coffin. But unfortunately, the new revelation didn't help me any… now he knew he was going down for sure, he had nothing to lose on taking a stab at getting his revenge on me (no pun intended.)

"Well, I'm the one with the blade, so I make the rules. You better back off Ace or I'll fuckin' cut her, I swear."

He lowered it to my throat and slowly began to lead me backwards. Ace and Vince started towards us but Lewis stiffened his grip on the switch-blade, warning them away. Ace decided to err on the side of caution and stuck an arm out in front of Vince, holding him back from going any closer. I could see Ace's mind calculating through his options as this malevolent son of a bitch knew he had this won.

"You can have her back when I'm done with her," he snickered cockily. My stomach lurched a little as his hot breath hung closely around my ear, making me feel repulsively nauseous. "I'm only gonna fuck her up a little bit. That's all she was ever good for anyway…"

You know, I think he probably would've had me if he hadn't got cocky like that and tried to rub it in to Ace. I think it was a combination of exhaustion, alcohol, the smell of him, the memory of walking into that house in Hutt and feeling that some terrible shit had happened in there. But most of all it was those last words that made my stomach turn – literally.

My body jerked and I heaved. I hadn't eaten much all day so it was mainly beer… all three-and-a-bit rounds of it. It came powering out of me like someone had turned on a fire hose. Out of my nose, out of my mouth, all down the front of me and all over his hand. Eyeball's abrupt laughter rang out as Lewis pulled his hand off my mouth in revulsion and disgust, holding it out as chunks and foam slid down the length his arm. I turned slightly to my right and faked a second heave and his instinctive reactions made him flinch back a little as he tried to avoid a second vomit coating. He was still standing close to me, and it was a risky break, but the brief distraction was my only hope. Not wasting the split second chance, I dashed out of his slackened grip and felt him try to grasp me back, but it was too late. I darted between Ace and Vince as they staunchly made their way forward to deliver Lewis's punishment.

"If anyone's gonna get fucked up tonight Lewis, it's you," Ace said menacingly, striding forwards and rubbing his knuckles in the palm of his hand.

Lewis took a wide defensive swipe in front of him with the switch-blade to warn them both away, but Vince ducked around it and booted him hard in the side of the knee cap causing him to buckle sideways in pain. A weakened second swipe came close to Vince, narrowly missing his chest, but he managed to wrestle Lewis's arm to grab his hand and then bit down hard into his fingers. "Mother-fucker!" cried Lewis as the switch-blade fell from his grasp into the dirt.

"Back off Vince, this piece of shit's all mine," Ace said cruelly through gritted teeth. "That was 400 bucks worth of stuff you stole from me, and I'm gonna take every last cent of it out on your ass."

"Oh yeah?" Lewis snarled with a casual shrug. "Let's go."

Vince kicked the blade away and took a few strides back as Ace and Lewis circled with clenched fists, staring each other down like feral wolves. Lewis moved quick off the mark, lunging his whole body forwards, coming at Ace like a maniac on steroids. He threw rapid sweeping jabs at Ace's torso, successfully landing a few blows to his ribs and stomach, but doing little visible damage. Ace quickly became frustrated with the scrappiness of Lewis's swings, so turned to his side and did a running shove to heave Lewis backwards, ramming him hard up against Eyeball's car.

Lewis threw a weak left at Ace's nose but Ace easily deflected it, then drew his arm back to deliver a powerful right-hook to Lewis's jaw. He immediately followed it up with a sort of side-ways uppercut to the nose and Lewis cupped his face in pain as it gushed with blood.

"Oh you're gonna regret that," Lewis said, wiping the blood from his lip off with the back of his hand.

"Look how many swings you've taken," Ace taunted. "My two and you're bleeding like a stuck pig."

Lewis lunged forwards to grab Ace's shoulder and tried to thrust his knee up into his stomach. But Ace ignored it and grabbed either side of Lewis's T-shirt collar. Gripping it tight, Ace powerfully swung Lewis around, making him lose his balance and skid heavily into the dirt on his ass. Lewis instantly tried to get up, but Ace unexpectedly whipped out a powerful side-kick to his stomach, sending him scooting backwards and scraping his elbows raw in the bits of loose gravel.

"Now what're ya gonna do?" Ace mocked, standing over him with a gritty smile.

The violent glare from Lewis's wide eyes told us all he wasn't done yet. He plunged up and rushed towards Ace, but Ace grabbed and thrust Lewis past him, driving him head first into Eyeball's driver's side door. In a daze, Lewis tried to get up off his knees but Ace booted him in the side from behind, causing him to drop sideways into the gravel. Lewis rolled away from the car, onto his other side, but met Ace's steel caps as they put a few more boots into his stomach. Ace kept putting the boot in over and over until Lewis was spitting blood. It was such a sickening sight that I felt an urge to yell out for him to stop, but Ace soon decided that Lewis had had enough.

Ace took one step back and towered over the sorry bastard as he lay finished in the gravel covered in bruises and blood. Then he reached into his back pocket to draw out his switch-blade and knelt down next to Lewis, flicking it open to reveal six inches of razor sharp steel.

"Now you better listen up," Ace said bitterly, pointing the tip of the blade to his broken and bloody nose. "If I ever see your face again I'm gonna rip it to fucking shreds. It's only 'cos Cass is here that I ain't gonna do it now, so at least that's one thing you've got to thank her for. Now get the fuck outta here before I accidently let this slip."

Ace rose and took a step backward as Lewis grabbed Eyeball's door handle to help him struggle to his feet. Holding his battered stomach and continuously wiping at the blood streaming from his nose, he slowly trudged backwards towards the darkness. He kept a close eye on Ace and Vince, making sure they weren't going to jump him again, but more so, he scowled past them at me. He wanted to have the last say, I could tell, but he wisely held himself back. His bloodied, bruised and brutal stare spoke louder than words anyhow; it was clear that he wanted to tell me that he should've killed me right there and then when he had the chance. He continued to back away, limping on his knee with every second step, not taking his eyes off me until the darkness of the back street swallowed him up and he disappeared from sight.

"Eyeball, take her inside," Ace pointed. "Vince you're with me."

I was taken aback that they were leaving as I had no idea where they could possibly be going. Were they planning to follow Lewis to finish him off? I wanted to ask but that tense, rigid tone in Ace's voice told me that he would not be in the mood to answer questions. Without another word from anyone, Eyeball and I were left alone as Vince followed Ace through a small side alley that lead out to the main street.

"Come on, inside," Eyeball slurred. "Hey… what'd you do to your arm?"

I slowly peeled my hand off for a peek at the damage. Blood ran fluently down my arm and dripped off my fingertips into the gravel. When Lewis had tried to grab me back, he'd done it with the hand which held the switch-blade, and he'd got me a good one. A three inch long streak ran half an inch deep from the front of my upper arm around to the back.

"It's not bad," I said, knowing that was a lie.

"Lemme look. That's gonna need stitches."

"I can't go back into Irby's with my arm like this. Besides, I'm covered in puke. Let's go back to my place so I can clean up."

"What if he fuckin' follows us? That's the last place you wanna lead him. Let's go back to Ace's," he said, moving towards his car.

"OK… don't you wanna grab Billy and Charlie real quick?"

"Nah, Ace don't want 'em knowin' nothin'. Come on, hurry up."

We rushed over to his shit heap and he opened the driver's door, now complete with a head-sized dent in it, for me to slide in over to the passengers side. "Quick, hurry the fuck up," he whined. "If he comes back I ain't in no state for a rumble… fuck no."

"You're in no state to drive either…"

"Hey, you drippin' blood all over my fuckin' seat!"

"Well, what am I supposed to do about it? Well… here." An idea crossed my mind and I leant slightly forwards towards him. "Pull my singlet over my head. I'll use it to wrap my arm."

"What? I'm not undressing you! Fuckin' hell… Ace'd kill me!"

"Well if I take my hand off this thing to pull it off myself it's gonna gush, ain't it?"

"Fuck," Eyeball huffed, pulling his own T-shirt over his head and holding it out to me. "Here, have mine."

"Well, you've gotta tie it… How am I supposed to…"

"Jesus… give it the fuck here then," he moaned reaching over to do as I'd asked.

"Tie it nice and tight," I said, slipping my hand out as he pulled the loose ends. It took him a few drunken seconds to secure it and I had to steer my eyes away from his hot shirtless body as he wrapped it for me to hold. (Hey, I'm a red-blooded female OK? Stop givin' me shit about it…)

Eyeball was in no fit state to drive, that's for sure. But hey, we had to get home somehow and there was no way I could drive with my arm like that. It probably would've been a smoother ride though, if I had just shut up and let him concentrate. But I couldn't help telling him to slow down before the corners, watch out for the curb. He's got right of way. That's a stop sign. I admire Eyeball's patience because hell, even I was finding me irritating.

We finally made it to Ace's safely and Eyeball rushed me inside, before checking all the rooms to make sure it was secure. My first stop was the bathroom… obviously. After flicking on the light I untied Eyeball's blood soaked T-shirt to take a closer look at the wound. My arm was a bloody mess, literally, and it was just as agonizing as it looked. Deep lines of red bordered the laceration showing early signs of infection, and smeared around that was a massive purpley-black bruise which covered nearly my entire upper arm. I couldn't help the sickening thought that Lewis would've been proud if he'd seen it.

Today, all that's left is a fine white line across my arm. It was a clean slice so it's nothing hideous; in fact, it's barely noticeable. And yet, ironically, it never fails to shock me every time I catch a glimpse of it. It's not the scar that's shocking; it's how I got the scar. From some crazy fuck that I would've put up with for god knows how long. I still can't get over that... what the hell was wrong with me? I'd never usually put up with someone like that. I must've been low… real low.

I lent over the sink and tried my best to wash the wound with soap, as that was all I could find. It was throbbing with each heart beat but at least it wasn't gushing as much now… well, as long as I didn't move it the wrong way and accidently reopen the wound.

"Elevate it," Eyeball called as he passed the bathroom, pulling one of Ace's clean T-shirts over his head.

"Can you get me one too?" I yelled out, eager to change out of the wet beer and vomit scented singlet.

"Get your fuckin' own," he moaned, before turning on his heels and deciding to get me one after all.

I raised my elbow above my head and leant it up against the wall. Holding the wound tightly, I took in a few deep breaths to try and slow my heart rate. I don't know how much blood I'd already lost, but I was starting to feel overwhelmingly tired and faint.

"Jesus, are you alright?" he asked, standing in the doorway in front of me, holding a T-shirt and suddenly seeming concerned. "You're white as a ghost."

"Help me get this thing off," I said softly, rocking slowly with my elbow still up on the wall and feeling like I was about to pass out.

He didn't argue this time and grasped the edge of the singlet and pulled it up of me, before pulling Ace's fresh one over my head.

"Thanks Eyeball."

"You'd better sit down before you fall down." I grabbed a towel to wrap around my arm and he held me around waist to lead me into the lounge. "How's it feel?"

"Painful," I answered, laying down on the sofa, swimming in Ace's T-shirt and resting my arm on the back of the sofa above me.

Eyeball slumped onto the end of the sofa I was laying on, scratched a match to light a cigarette, then lazily flicked it into the ashtray on the coffee table in front of us.

"That was fuckin' funny," he snickered. "Puking at him to get away. You shoulda seen his face. I'll never fuckin' forget that one."

"I thought I was a goner."

"You're just lucky I came out to tell you I found my wallet. Or you woulda been."

"Holy shit… Well, I owe you one. Big time. I owe you all…"

He sucked in a puff on his cigarette and slouched down even more, relaxing with his eyes closed.

"Do you know where Ace went?" I asked softly, almost asleep myself.

"Gone to find the guy who ratted you out."

"Ratted me out?"

"You know Thomas?"

"Not really, but he lives in Hutt right? He was there tonight."

"Yeah, I seen him. Looks like that dick and Lewis are better buddies than anyone thought."

"So he told Lewis I was there? Fuckin' hell!" I was suddenly wide awake and had almost leapt off the couch.

"Ace'll take care of 'em. Don't worry 'bout that."

I lay back again, still with my arm raised, watching Eyeball intently as he took one last drag then stumped it out in the ashtray on the coffee table before relaxing back with his eyes closed.

"Eyeball…"

"What?" he grunted.

"Ace tells you everything right?"

"Depends, why?"

"Do you know why he didn't tell me I grassed on Lewis?"

"I ain't answering that. You'll have to ask him." Then he opened his eyes a little and glanced sideways at me through tired and drunken slits. "You know, Ace'll never tell you he cares about you Cass. But if he ever comes to rescue you from some crazy cunt in the middle of a game of pool, you'll know."

"I suppose so," I grinned weakly, outstretching my feet up to his lap, with my good arm over my eyes to block out the light.


	14. Chapter 13: Tough Love

**Tough Love**

* * *

"Ace, come on man, I need the money." Eyeball's hushed voice spoke lowly, almost in a whisper.

"Well it's not like your gettin' nothin'," Ace's low husk spoke back. "You keep making the pickups and I'll split it 50/50."

"Fine…" Eyeball gave in. "So what, you're gonna send _her_ 'round to my cousin's place? You really think that's a good idea?"

"If that asshole touches her I'll break his fuckin' neck."

"Fuck, _I_ wouldn't trust him."

"Well I'm gonna need you in a couple weeks for… Hey Cass, you're awake," Ace said, cutting his sentence short after glancing into the lounge and noticing me sat up on the sofa watching their conversation. But at the time I was feeling so incredibly drowsy that it went in one ear and out the other without my brain processing or caring for much of it on the way through.

After managing to stand to a wobble, I sluggishly made my way over to the kitchen table where Ace and Eyeball were avidly finishing up their plates of bacon and eggs. Although the food smelt good and I hadn't eaten in hours, I couldn't bear the thought of stomaching anything. I flopped onto the seat at the end of the table like a rag doll, slumping forwards with my weary head in my hands.

"Where's Vince?" I managed to mumble, lazily using only my bottom lip to form the words.

"Gone home. What's with the towel?" Ace asked, noticing it tied tightly around my arm.

"Lewis got me."

"Gizza look." He reached over to grab my left wrist and roughly pulled my arm around to him.

"Fuck, careful!" I yelped, twisting towards him so he could peel back the cloth to take a peek. "It might start… bleeding again."

"Jesus, look what he's fuckin' done!" Ace eyes grew wide as he rolled my floppy arm over in his hands. I think he expected to see that I'd exaggerated a scratch. I admit, even I was a little taken aback by how much the infection had deepened. I thought it looked bad enough earlier with the surrounding bruising and all, but now it was just scary. "I shoulda done more than put that fucker in hospital. Shoulda put him outta his fuckin' misery."

I glanced at Eyeball for answers, and he gave me a small casual shrug as if to say, "Told you so".

"What do you mean hospital?"

"Went round to pay Thomas a visit, beat the fuck outta that little faggot, then guess who shows up?"

"Oh my God, you're kidding…"

"Nope. So went another round with him and then Thomas's girlfriend shows up, starts freaking out and takes both of 'em to hospital. And you know what the funny part is?"

"Funny part?" I was stunned at how he could possibly find anything amusing in all of this.

"Stupid bitch let it slip on which one she was taking 'em to. So now I'll just give Diego a call and Lewis is a fuckin' dead man." Without a crumb of concern, he strolled down to his room to make the phone call as casually as if he was planning to order pizza… not to sign some guy's death warrant.

With the blood now oozing out of my arm again, I found myself leaning over Ace's bathroom sink and trying to wash the wound once more. I stuck to trying to flush it out with cold water because using soap obviously hadn't helped the first two times I'd done it and I didn't want to make it any worse.

"That's not lookin' good," Ace said, appearing in the doorway behind me.

I couldn't pick a reply for that so just stood there staring at the discolored defacement, holding it helplessly. He pushed off the door frame and casually strolled in carrying this amber half-gallon bottle of Clorox bleach.

"Hold your arm over the sink," he directed.

"What's that?" I asked, a little fearful of it.

"This'll clean it out good. Hold out your arm." He seemed like he knew what he was doing, so I decided to trust him and leant over the sink with my elbow pointed upwards. He tipped up the end of the bottle, and just before the liquid met the lip he said, "Brace yourself."

With a deep breath I looked away and tightened my fist, but really there was nothing I could've done to prepare myself for the pain that was about to hit me.

"Fuck!" squelched out of my throat as the bleach seeped into the cut. It stung like he'd poured on razors and I clenched my fist tighter, but didn't dare pull away. Ace wiped it around it, and then poured onto it again before wiping a final time. Feeling faint from the pain, I lent hard against the sink on my right arm while he put down the bleach and began taping up the wound with some kind of surgical tape.

"I thought he had me tonight," I said, trying to take my mind off the throbbing ache. "I really thought he was gonna get what he wanted."

"We never woulda let that happen," he reassured me.

"How the hell did I get into that situation Ace?"

"Well, you woulda told him your mother died, so I guess he would've seen you were alone and vulnerable. Easy prey," he shrugged.

"You always have all the answers," I smiled weakly.

"Makes sense, don't it?"

"Perfect sense. So, how long have you known?"

"Known what? That you've got a big mouth?" he smirked, reaching for a bandage and winding it around my arm.

"OK… more specifically then…" I smirked back, unable to argue with him.

"I've always known it was Lewis's girlfriend that snitched on him, but it wasn't until I took you to out to Thomas's place that I knew for sure it was you."

"Why didn't you tell me I'm a grass?"

"What for? I warned you he was out there, that's all you needed to know." He finished up and fastened the bandage with a small safety pin.

"Gee, you're pretty good at this," I said, impressed at his tidy bandaging job.

"I've had lots of practice. I can stitch it up for you too if you want."

"Erm… it's OK. I'll go see the doctor tomorrow."

"I'm crashin' in your spare room," Eyeball called as he trudged past the bathroom before closing a door down the hall.

"You want my advice Cass? You've got all the answers you're ever gonna need. Knowing more ain't gonna do you any good. So just get over it and stop thinkin' like this 'memory loss' is a curse and start seeing it as a blessing in disguise."

"Yeah, I guess you're right… as usual."

"I'm always right," he said with a smooth grin. "And the sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be." He beckoned me with two fingers and I turned into him, dipping my arms low around his waist, embracing him in an appreciative hug. He draped his arms around my shoulders and gave me a reassuring squeeze. "Lewis'll be long gone in a few days and you'll have nothin' more to worry about."

I would never thank anyone outright for doing those types of dirty deeds, but to be honest, on the inside I was jumping for joy. How could I ever feel safe again on my own, knowing that someone who wanted my head was still out there and could pounce at any time. But I sure felt safe at that moment, with Ace's capable arms wrapped around me like a security blanket. He had all the answers, he had everything under control, and there was nothing left for me to do but be thankful.

"What's the time?" I murmured into his chest.

"Around three," he murmured back, slowly running his fingers around the rim of my jeans. "You look sexy in black. Even if it is mine and four sizes too big."

"You look sexy in anything… and in nothing." I ran my hands under his T-shirt and he winced a little when I playfully dug my fingers into his ribs. "Are you alright?"

"I've had worse. For his size, that guy sure throws pussy punches."

"Better let me take a look," I said, pulling on his T-shirt as a suggestion for him to take it off. He let me pull it up over his head and I bit the corner of my lip, impishly looking him up and down. Seeing Ace shirtless is something that, even to this day, never fails to turn me on. There were deep bruises from the fights covering large areas of his side, ribs and abs and I sensitively slid a hand over the tender looking skin. "You're starting to make a habit of saving my ass."

"Yeah, but the problem is you're tickin' up the debt faster than I can find ways for you to pay me back."

I had to grin at that. Usually a person would brush it off saying, "That's OK," or "Don't sweat it." But typical Ace… instead I was left wondering what 'favors' he'd come up with for me next. But truthfully, if he had come up with something else on the spot, I would've agreed to do it without question. He'd probably saved my life that night and I would've done anything for him in return. If he didn't already own my soul, I'm sure I would've gladly handed it over to him again.

His borrowed T-shirt was gently pulled up over my head and then he pashed me hungrily, reaching behind and impatiently unhooking my bra one handed. I let it fall between us and his warm, rough fingertips skimmed the small of my back before riding up my spine, kneading into my skin as he pulled me in tightly against him. One broad shoulder lowered as he slid a hand down the back of my thigh, scooped my knee up to his side, and then reached down to scoop up the other leg, pulling me up onto his hips. The bathroom light was flicked off as we passed it, him carrying me towards his room in a heated mesh of skin and jeans. He kicked his bedroom door closed behind him and then dropped me down onto the unmade mess of sheets and blankets. I pushed my way up to the head of the bed and he flicked on a side lamp fitted with a red colored light bulb. The room filled with a sensual ambience and our skin flushed with a darkened red glow.

We were both completely exhausted after everything that had happened that day; Ace's glassy eyes showed it and I'm sure mine did too. But that only seemed to increase the passion between us. It slowed things down and the scene felt more intimate than it had the other times. Ace leaned over me, his eyes dreary with drowsiness and lust, and I felt my body go limp as he licked across my lips before slipping his tongue in between them. No matter how much he kissed me, it still felt as rousing as the first time. He'd always devour my mouth like it contained his favorite nectar, which he couldn't get enough of, and then he'd become rougher as he hungered for it even more. I heard one steel cap drop onto the wooden floor and then two, and then came to lay down beside me, holding me firmly by the jaw as his kisses became more avid.

We tugged at each other's belts, zips and buttons, and both pairs of jeans and underwear slowly made their way towards the end of the bed leaving nothing but skin. He twisted a thin sheet overtop of us and then began his usual routine of finding empty patches of skin to mark me on. Every skin cell his tongue touched came alive as he worked me over, leaving a second trail of bruises around my hips, across my belly, all the way down to my inner thighs. I remembered to be careful with my arm, but as he went down on me and his tongue turned rampant, it was difficult not to grip him too hard and strain it.

After resurfacing sometime later, he wiped his mouth with the sheet and lay next to me with his head propped up on his elbow. He just stared silently at me for a while with his drowsy blue eyes and I stared back at him, still sprawled and trying to slow my breathing after my intense orgasm.

"What is it?" I asked quietly, after my breathing had returned to normal. I was curious about why he wasn't already on top and banging me like he usually would be.

"Nothing." He lightly ran his hand down my inner thigh and looked me straight in the eyes as he pushed in two fingers. "Not too sore?"

"I'm OK," I lied, humbled that he'd been considerate enough to ask. I _was_ still feeling tender after the six times he'd taken me already that day, but I wanted him again just as much as I knew he wanted me. After meeting that psycho ex of mine, I felt so safe and secure being there with Ace. I felt protected like nothing could go wrong and nobody could touch me anymore. I felt like he'd look after me. And I wanted to give him everything, and be everything he wanted in return.

He rolled on top of me, hugging me around the neck and weighing me down so heavily that I could feel his heart pounding hard in his chest. I wrapped my legs around his waist and locked my ankles together, gripping him tightly against me. He pushed his way in slowly, sucking my neck harder and harder with each leisurely thrust. It didn't hurt for long before I was lost in that place where pain and pleasure are one in the same, and I even told him that he could go harder if he wished… but he wouldn't. He'd just look into my eyes, give me a seductive grin and then bury his head back into my neck. It felt so subdued and so different from the usual harsh and heavy-handed pounding I'd been getting all day, and after a while I realized what it really was – Ace wasn't banging me or screwing me or whatever he did every time before that. Maybe it was because of the whole ordeal with Lewis, maybe it was because he was exhausted, maybe he was on something. Who knows? But that guy was making love to me, I swear it. He'd never have admitted it if I'd asked, but he was so relaxed and gentle with me that I knew, that for the first time in my life, I was experiencing 'love making'. Perhaps there was a place for soft and sweet after all.

Ace soon sped up to reach his climax and I felt him burst within me, which brought me off again, but with a small tired whimper rather than the excessive moans and screams that had been heard throughout the house earlier in the day. He lay on top of me for a while, just kissing me quietly. I was still his favorite nectar, but he nurtured it rather than greedily hungering for it.

Finally he pulled out and rolled off me, panting and trying to catch his breath. I just lay there, silently watching him in the reddened light, feeling like I wanted to say something, to tell him something special. Something I'd never told anyone before, even after countless relationships. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Then he reached over to switch off the light and wrapped his arm around me, making me feel warm in his embrace. Making me feel safe and out of harm's way. Making me feel loved.

* * *

At around lunchtime I drifted out of sleep with the bright sun glowing through the thin curtains. It was the best sleep I'd had in forever. You'd think the encounter with Lewis would've given me nightmares, but sleeping wrapped in Ace's arms made me forget it all completely. He was still dead asleep next to me and, without being creepy, I watched him for a moment wondering whether what I'd felt last night was real.

My gaze dropped to his arm and I lightly traced his tattoo with my finger. "Cobras" sat in uppercase lettering underneath a snake entwined around a switchblade. Eyeball had designed that tattoo. It was professionally done, unlike the other guys who got homemade jobs with a sharp razor. But just like Chris with his schoolwork, Eyeball's drawing skills were direly undervalued. Must've developed with all the doodling he'd done during class and detention. I've told him he could make something of it if he'd only apply himself, but I think after all the years of being told he's no good at anything by his teachers and his parents, he'd started believing it. It pisses me off to be honest – these assholes bringing the Chambers kids down the way they always have. But I guess, at least their friends acknowledge them and appreciate what they can do.

I glanced around the walls of Ace's room and grinned to see nothing less of what I would've expected. There weren't the usual traces of baseball and football paraphernalia, this was a typical car enthusiast boys room. Pictures of girls pouring over muscle cars, greasy car parts and clothes all over the floor, one shelf covered with bolts, screws and other junk and another stacked with car magazines (and probably the other kind I'm sure…). Ace is car mad through and through and his room showed it.

"Can I borrow your car?" I whispered in his ear.

"Keys on the bench," he murmured, rolling over.

I left him sleeping and paid a visit the doctor, who asked too many questions, and stitched me up with thirteen stitches… unlucky number thirteen. Then I skipped home for a shower and grabbed a whole bag of clothes just in case I wouldn't be coming home for a while.

Mid-afternoon I wandered into Ace's kitchen to find him standing shirtless at the sink, drinking a glass of water and seemingly in deep thought. I came up behind him, just as he'd done to me the day before, and slid my arms around his waist.

"Last night… that was… different. It was nice different though."

"Where'd you go?" he turned around and lent back against the sink, completely ignoring (and probably avoiding) my comment.

"To get stitched up," I said, pulling away from him, a little surprised at the sudden cold shoulder. "Where'd you think? And to my place."

"So you didn't see Chris at all?"

"What? No… why?"

"Good. Because I'm still not sure you've got the message yet." His tone of voice was rather harsh and after a night of him being so easygoing I was more than confused, and a little upset.

"No… I've got it…" I wanted to keep him calm and yearned for him to switch back into last night's mood - but switching Ace's mindset is never easy.

"I'm not convinced."

"OK… fine. I'll admit that staying away from Chris completely does seem a bit extreme. I know grassing on Lewis is kind of a big deal, but I'd never do that to you. You can trust me… you know that right?"

"You've gotta realize that this isn't just about trust. It's about risk. And I'm taking a fuckin' big risk letting you in on all of this. If you want me to trust you, and I mean trust you to the point where I can rely on you, then you've gotta earn it." He reached over to grab a neatly wrapped paper package sat on the bench and handed it to me. "And here's your first chance to prove yourself."

"What's this?"

"There's a couple thousand dollars' worth in there, so don't fuck it up or you owe me."

"A couple thousand dollars worth of what?"

"It's a quart kilo – half pound – of high-quality cocaine."

"Ah… come again?"

He roughly scrawled something on a piece of paper and handed it to me. "Here's the address. This is where I need this delivered tonight. Now, you understand the seriousness of this shit right?"

"Well… yeah…"

"Jail time if you're done for distribution or supply."

"OK…" I said, with a sudden sense of paranoia as it weighed in my hands.

"And here's the thing Cass. Chris knows about it."

"What?" At the end of the word 'what' my jaw wouldn't close again. A single shudder shook through me like a wave and I felt my chest drop as if the wind was knocked from my lungs. The realization of what this meant literally stopped my breathing and I had to consciously start it again.

"This is usually Eyeball's job but he's kindly taking a pay cut for you for a couple of weeks. The first time I took one 'round to him, Chris overheard us talking. We knew nothing until one day when Eyeball got Chris in an armbar and Chris blurted out that he'd squeal to the cops if he broke his arm."

"Jesus," I sighed, wincing my eyes. _Chris... you stupid..._

"We don't think he knows exactly what it is, but it doesn't matter. If he decides to go blowing his mouth off about it and the cops decide to believe him, we'll be doin' that jail time. Now I don't keep this here for long; it comes to me and goes again. But if they really wanna get me Cass, they'll scope us out and bust us."

"OK, I get it now," I nodded submissively.

"Good. You play this by my rules and we won't have any problems. All I can do is make sure that little shit keeps the idea in his head that if he says anything, he's dead. And I mean that Cassie; I don't make idle threats."

"OK, I'll stay away."

"You better. Cos if you do anything to risk exposing us I'll have no problem making the same threat to you. Don't try and play me girl – I've got eyes like a fucking hawk and if you think you've seen me pissed off… you ain't seen nothin'."

Geez, talk about running hot and cold. One minute he's all over me and the next he's threatening me. It's understandable I suppose… letting someone in on a huge deal like that, you've gotta make sure they understand the seriousness of it. But nothing could explain away the hurt I was feeling. Just when I thought I'd fallen for the guy, he throws more on the pile of reasons for me to hate him.

But I had to get over it quickly – because in the grand scheme of things, this changed nothing. In fact, now that I'd learnt exactly how Chris was in danger, I now understood how vital it was that I stuck around.


	15. Chapter 14: Good Intentions

**Good Intentions**

* * *

"Cass, wake up." Ace's large hand vigorously shook my shoulder and I murmured for him to leave me alone. "Time to get this show on the road."

I'd accidently slept on my arm, so it was hurting like hell, but I still somehow managed to dress myself… it just took a while longer than usual. Even though it was the middle of summer, and fairly warm considering it was midnight, I chose my regular blue jeans and a dark zipped jacket which had handy inner pockets that I could use to conceal certain 'items'.

When I finally emerged from the bedroom Ace was anxiously waiting for me in the kitchen, standing sternly with his thumbs in his jean pockets. "What've you been doing? Haven't got all night you know…"

"You try putting a bra on when you can hardly bend your arm," I mumbled under my breath.

"We're gonna take a car in and park it at Vince's place. Meet me back there in two hours, got it? If a cop asks what you're doing walkin' 'round in the middle of the night, tell 'em you walked out on your boyfriend after an argument. And if that happens, forget the deal and go straight to your place. That'll keep your story legit, plus you don't wanna lead them to Keith's, Vince's or to here."

"OK, so… you're sure Lewis is out of action right?"

"The guy's got a broken rib and a broken collar bone. Even if he did get out of hospital and Diego's boys missed him, he ain't gonna be chasing you."

"That's reassuring…"

He nestled the package into the inner pocket of my jacket and a rush of nerves rolled though me as he zipped it up tight. Luckily the jacket was a little baggy so it wasn't easy to tell that I had something in there, but the weight of it would be a constant reminder to me that there _was_. "You remember the address?"

"Yeah. So… this isn't some really dodgy place you're sending me to, is it?"

"I've just given you two and a half grand's worth of cocaine. What do you think?"

"Yay..."

"You'll be right; it's Eyeball's cousin," he said, suddenly stepping close to me and staring down into my eyes with his alluring cool blues. "Watch him though; the guy's a lose unit."

"Like I said, you can trust me," I said adamantly.

"And like I said, now's your chance to prove it." He touched the underside of my chin with one hand, swept my hair away from my cheek with the other and pashed me hard, making me turn to mush, as he knew was always so easy to do. Cunning. Knowing him as well as I do now I realize it would've been to ensure all was well between us before sending me around to another guy's house, in the middle of the night, alone… and especially to _this_ guy's house. "Oh, and one other thing." He slyly unknotted the scarf from around my neck and threw it down into the trashcan at our feet. "No more hiding those. I don't give 'em to you for nothin' you know."

* * *

_Walk there, walk back, that's all there is to it. _It was as simple as that really, but just knowing that I _wasn't_ innocently walking home from my boyfriend's place was enough to make me break out into a cold sweat. My clothes stuck to me uncomfortably as I marched the mile and a half from Vince's place to the other side of town, and I probably looked as suspicious as I felt. Every few hundred feet I'd take a glance over my shoulder and I even jumped into the bushes when a car passed by, out of fear it'd be a cop. Good thing it wasn't because really, that was an awfully stupid thing to do. But I couldn't help it. This wasn't an ounce or two of weed I was carrying here; this was fuckin' cocaine…

It was alright for Eyeball to pay his cousin visits during the daytime, but for me, Ace wouldn't consider it an option… nor would he let me take a car. The chance of the neighbors becoming suspicious of seeing someone new turning up at Keith's place regularly was small, but there was still a chance and Ace wasn't willing to risk it for anything. So instead, there I was, walking it, by myself, in the middle of the night. Not the safest option in my opinion. But if that's what Ace says is best, then that's what I do. At least I'd be getting paid well.

I knew where the area was, but needed Ace to give me directions so I could find my way through it. It's the semi-rural side of town; the houses are spread further along the streets, street lights are only at every corner and huge dugout drains stripe the side of the roads where you'd usually find side-walks. Even though it was the middle of the night, I still couldn't help but keep an eye out for Chris. I'd never been to Chris's place, but he mentioned his cousin a couple of times and said that they lived close. So I found myself staring into nearly every house I passed on the off-chance I'd see him, but that night it just wasn't to be.

Eventually I found the street where Keith supposedly lived and, after some eye straining, found the number on the letterbox. The curtains were aglow from a light on inside and that helped reassure me that I had the right place. I took a huge breath of the chilled air that surrounded me for a much needed boost of confidence. I admit, I was feeling more than a tad uneasy. Sure, this was Chris's cousin, but it was also a cocaine dealer's house and I wasn't at all sure what to expect.

I treaded cautiously down the driveway and around to the back of the house as Ace had instructed. Thick, bushy pine trees bordered the back yard and were so tall that they blocked out the moonlight, making it difficult to see where I was stepping. I suspected they would be useful in keeping the back entrance hidden from prying eyes.

After taking it careful up the dark back steps I took another deep breath before knocking softly on the door. About twenty seconds went by and I thought perhaps I'd knocked too softly… and then I worried that perhaps I didn't have the right house after all. As I rolled over the decision to leave or knock again, there was the sound of a key turning and the door creaked opened a crack. "Who are you?" asked a husky voice.

"Ace asked me to come," I replied, trying to shake the nerves.

The door opened a crack wider and I could just make out the guys short dark hair and stubbly face in the dim light, glowing from behind him. "Ace sent _you_?"

"Yeah, is that a problem?" I asked a little defensively.

"He didn't say nothin' to me 'bout sending someone else." His tone told me that my entire nervous journey may have been for nothing, and I tried to think of something to convince him to let me in. But he gave a sigh and decided to take a chance on me on his own account. He took a step sideways, pulled the door open just enough for me to squeeze through, and then gave it a cool flick to swing it closed.

My bottom lip dropped a little as a cross between Chris and Eyeball stood before me; you would've thought he was their older brother, not a cousin. Jamming his thumbs into the back pockets of his rough, worn jeans, he tilted his head to one side and relaxed into a classic, casual Eyeball stance. Ace had told me to watch him, sure… that was easy. All that's needed to make me look are broad shoulders and big hands, and with a simple white singlet showing off his wide, well-built chest and heavily tattooed upper arms, this guy was above average eye-candy as far as I was concerned. But, I knew where the line was and I had no intention of crossing it.

He began to pace a slow circle around me, attentively scanning me from head to toe with glary versions of Chris's eyes which paid extra attention to my ass. "Ace'd usually let me know if he was sending someone else... especially someone new."

"I can't believe he didn't call you then," I said, struggling to keep my eyes above his shoulders.

"Didn't hear a word."

"So I guess I should get him to sort it for tomorrow then…" I was dreading having to walk all the way back out there with the cocaine in my jacket. Having money in my pocket, I didn't feel so bad about. But I'd taken the drugs far enough for one night.

"Well," he said, stepping around behind me so near that I could feel his breath near my ear, "why don't you show me what you got?"

"I beg your pardon?" I asked with a small, nervous chuckle, a little stunned at his brazenness.

"I'll be able to tell if you are who you say you are, once I take a look at the goods."

"Oh… of course…"

"Why, what'd you think I meant?" he grinned smugly, strutting further into the lounge.

The place had a rustic, cozy, laid-back feel to it and I could just imagine hanging out there with friends for a few quiet ones on a Friday night. The most predominant feature was the giant stag head that hung above the open fireplace, but he also had a bear hide used as a rug on the polished wooden floorboards and the mantelpiece and shelving were lined with various other little knickknacks like old fashioned beer jugs and such. After turning down the radio a fraction, he took one plush, suede like sofa for himself and offered me the other on the opposite side of his small, wooden coffee table.

I ignored his wayward eyes as I drew the zip down on my jacket and assertively pulled out the package, confident that it would make him see that all was well.

"Well, it's the right weight," he said, taking it from me and casually bobbing it in his hand. He placed it down in front of him on the coffee table, flicked a switchblade and then slit the package at one end before peeping into the bag for a visual analysis. He then slit open the layer of inner packaging, and with another, smaller blade cut a tiny fragment from the rock and sucked if off the tip of his finger.

"What is this shit?" he grimaced, wiping at his mouth in disgust. "Tastes like fucking baking soda. Ace'd never try to sell me this crap. Who the fuck are you?"

I was gob smacked, dumfounded, speechless. How could Ace have got it wrong? Had he tried to make a fool of me on purpose? Tried to rip this guy off at my expense, or what? "I'm… I swear I'm…" I stammered, my cheeks flushing hot with embarrassment and nerves galloping like wild horses in my chest.

"Here, you fuckin' taste it." He slid the bag across the coffee table over to me and I stared down at it dumbly. How was I supposed to know what 'good stuff' or 'the real deal' tastes like? I had no fucking clue!

"I… I dunno… I never erm…"

His riled expression then suddenly eased, his rigid posture relaxed, and he sunk back into his mellow and blasé manner as a sly smile spread across his lips. "Ace, you bad, bad boy," he snickered, seedily staring me up and down again. "I'll be havin' words with him."

"Erm… what do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"For sending a young, innocent, naïve girl around here who doesn't know the first thing about this shit… or what she's getting herself into." He folded the package in and tucked it down beside him in his sofa, and then pulled out a rolled up wad of cash and threw over to me. "You can count it if you want, but Ace knows I'd never try to rip him off."

"So, what? You were playing with me? You asshole!" I said harshly, rather pissed off at him for almost giving me a nervous breakdown.

"With your neck in that state, I could tell you were Ace's girlfriend as soon as you stepped in the door."

Pouting, I tucked the wad in my pocket then zipped up the jacket, pulling the collar up extra high up to cover the bruises somewhat.

"Besides," he said, relaxing back on the sofa, "why don't you tell me I'm wrong?"

"Well… it's not like I have a choice. I need the money."

"What for?"

"Because otherwise I'll have to leave town. And I'm kinda getting attached to this place."

"Why? It's a shit hole."

"Well, why are you here then?"

"Because small, quiet towns full of unsuspecting pushovers suit me."

"Right… makes sense I suppose."

"So what's your name?"

"Cassie, or Cass; whichever."

"Cassidy? Or…?"

"Cassandra."

"Cassandra hey? So you don't like people calling you that?"

"No way… Cassie's good. Cassandra sounds way too… not me."

"OK, then Cassie," he said, leaning forward on his sofa again. "Ace must really see something in you to send you 'round here… and to trust you with that." He nodded towards the wad of cash tucked away in my pocket.

"Yeah, I guess so…"

"I've known Ace since he was six years old. I know so. Even most of his boys don't know about this shit."

"Wow, you've known him that long?"

"Yeah, 12, 13 years – somethin' like that. And so, since he seems to trust you with this, I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt. Trust isn't exactly something Ace hands out freely, so you must be alright."

"I keep telling him, he's got nothing to worry about," I said as my gaze began to wander over him again. After a brief dreamy moment, I caught myself out and cleared my throat, bringing my eyes back up to his.

"We'll see," he smirked, noticing my wandering eyes. He reached to a tin beside him on the coffee table, pulled out a joint and lit it, taking a few consecutive tokes. "So, how long've you known him for?"

"A couple months," I replied, watching the familiar strong scent of the weed quickly fill the room.

"Had any problems with the 'Little Blond Boomerang' yet?" He grinned at the phrase as he offered me the joint over the table.

"The what?" I shook my head, turning him down.

"Come on… don't tell me you've never done this either…"

"Actually, I've done a lot of it… but just not for a long time, so I know it's gonna hit me hard and I've got a long way to walk."

"But, it's good stuff," he grinned, eagerly trying to con me into it. "If you're too wasted to walk I'll give you a ride back."

"I'm good thanks."

"OK," he said, taking another toke himself. "More for me then."

"So what's this about a boomerang?"

"Sarah. Ace's ex. Eyeball calls her the 'Little Blond Boomerang' because every time you throw her away, she just keeps on comin' back," he sniggered.

"Wonderful." I swallowed down a hard lump, shocked to hear that name again after just having gotten over it. "Actually... you know… maybe I will have some of that."

"No problem," he grinned again, passing it to me.

I breathed in from it deeply and the full brunt of it hit me instantly. I hadn't been stoned for a long, long time, but the feeling was as familiar as if I'd done it yesterday… except way more intense. I held back a cough as I lazily gazed around the room, letting the weed do its thing and flush out my thoughts.

"I shouldn't have done that," I said, my mind reeling and feeling completely out of control. "I knew it was gonna hit me hard."

"Sure you should've. Don't worry 'bout a thing. I'll look after you," he said with a slightly cheesy grin.

"Oh will you now?" I grinned back, relaxing into the sofa's plushness, and only realizing then just how comfortable it was.

"So anyway… this chick's pretty persistent, but I know Ace thinks she's a bitch, so I don't think you'll have too much to worry about. And besides," he said smoothly, his glary eyes flashing a glint of cunning, "after sending you 'round here he won't wanna risk pissing you off will he?"

"I see your double meaning in that," I said, quick to catch on to his ulterior motives, "and I'm gonna pretend that your only meaning was that, I now have the upper hand because I know about this stuff. Not that I'd ever use that to my advantage."

"Why? What's wrong with the other meaning?" he asked with this irresistible grin that was so striking I couldn't help but grin back.

"I think I'd better go." I did not like the direction this was heading in. I knew all too well what he was suggesting and the temptation to flirt back was coming over me fast and strong.

"Well, it was nice to meet you Cassie," he said, rising and shaking my hand with a fairly firm grip.

"Likewise." As I headed to his back door, he followed behind and I could feel his eyes all over me. "See you next time," I said, pulling open the door.

"So there's gonna be a next time? I look forward to it."

* * *

The air felt crisper than it had earlier and I breathed it onto my tongue and into my nose, welcoming its pureness. Of course, I was still baked, but at least I felt a lot less paranoid about walking around _on_ drugs with a pocket full of cash, rather than being straight with a pocket full of drugs. A smile came as I patted the two grand wad in my jacket, feeling it safely tucked away inside. I was only getting a small portion of it, but still marveled at how easy it was to earn a week's wages by doing that small 'errand' just twice a week… and I finally understood why Ace had told me I was going to 'love' him for it.

He wasn't at the truck when I arrived back at Vince's place, but he'd told me to wait for him if I arrived first. So, I climbed up onto the bonnet of Vince's car, which was parked next to Ace's truck, and lay back to stare up at the stars.

To be honest, I was feeling pretty guilty about ogling over Keith so much. If I'd known Ace had done that to anyone I would've been raging jealous. And so, I promised myself that when I went back there in a few days for my second delivery I'd set some ground rules for these little meetings… and then I thought that maybe it'd be easier not to stay at all - just make the exchange and then leave.

_Hurry up Ace…_ I thought to myself. I needed to see him again to wipe the image of Keith's super sexy body which lingered so fresh in my mind.

It seemed like only moments later when I jumped, startled at Ace's hand gently caressing my face. He was crouching in front of me and I found that I was no longer on Vince's car bonnet, but lying Ace's sofa.

"How did it go?" he asked softly.

"Fine," I said squinting with pain as I sat up. My head was aching from falling asleep stoned.

"Fuck, look at you," he grinned, shaking his head. "Keith's a fuckin' stoner by the way."

"Yeah… I kinda found that out." I dipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out the wad of cash for him.

"Good girl," he said as he took it from me. "Any trouble?"

"Trouble? No…"

"Good. I'll have another one for you in a few days."

Through dry, bloodshot eyes I looked him over and grinned as every thought of Keith was easily flushed from my mind. Keith sure was somethin' with Eyeball's cool, laid-back temperament, Chris's air of intellect, and not to mention a body to die for, but Ace was just somethin' else. Just the way he moved with that cool, self-assured stride aroused me to the point where I just wanted to grab him and pull him in for some attention. The slightest touch, graze or even unintentional brush past me would shoot a thrill whizzing through my chest and feeling his naked skin rub against mine never failed to leave me feeling breathless and woozy. At that moment, I realized that being with Ace is like being addicted to the most incredible drug ever. And I was sure nobody or nothing else could ever come close…

* * *

_Walk there, walk back, that's all there is to it._ Three days later I found myself on the same walk from Vince's place to Keith's, a nervous wreck once again. But this time my nerves weren't only caused by the half a pound of cocaine weighing in my jacket pocket…

I was attracted to Keith… physically. I couldn't deny that. But Ace was everything to me and I knew that I'd be faithful to him – hell I'd never cheated on _anyone_ before… ever. I knew that I could trust myself, but Keith seemed to make it easy for me to slip into flirtatious mode, and even that was going too far for me. I didn't want to give him the wrong idea that I might be interested, especially when he hadn't made it half obvious that he wanted to get down my pants.

And so, as I nervously walked along the road I remembered my promise about setting ground rules, but I thought it would be wiser to simply take the money and leave. Why did I want to stay anyway? Well… because apart from good looks, he seemed quite cool to talk to and – let's face it – I wasn't exactly swimming in friends. I felt something unique while I was talking to Keith, but at the time, I couldn't put my finger on what it was. I thought maybe it was because he had such a striking likeness to his cousins and I could tell that Keith and I would click in much the same way as Chris and I had – even Eyeball and I to some degree. Then again, maybe I just missed Chris and Keith seemed like a convenient substitute.

As I arrived and knocked on his back door in the darkness, I quickly rehearsed the words I'd carefully chosen to explain myself. Once I'd told him, I'd make the exchange and leave. That was the plan anyway…

"Cassie," he said, welcoming me inside like an old buddy he'd known for years. "Come on in babe."

_Oh fuck, don't call me that please…_ I stepped inside, but was determined to keep my focus on what I'd planned to say to him. "Hi," I said anxiously as he closed the door after me. "I'm not staying. Please just give me the money and I'll go."

"Why not? Come in, have a J with me."

"I don't think that's a good idea." My eyes were roaming all over his floorboards as I tried to avoid eye contact with him.

"Why? What's the problem?"

"Because… you keep lookin' at me the way you do and it's… difficult." I could feel myself blushing, but tried to be brave and finally looked him in the eyes again.

"Lookin' at you what way?" he smirked, eyeing me over. "You're Ace's chick, I ain't lookin' at you like that."

"Yes… you were. You are. And please just stick to calling me Cass, OK? I know Ace isn't the easiest guy to get along with sometimes, but I like him… a lot. He's put himself out for me more than once, and we're just settling into a good space and I can't risk whatever it is we have for anything. Sorry."

"Come sit down and get wasted with me," he said, accepting my standpoint. "You've made yourself completely clear and I respect that."

"Really?" I wasn't expecting him to make things so easy on me. Maybe I could allow myself the pleasure of this small getaway after all.

"Yeah. Come on in." He turned towards the lounge to lead me in, but I had an urge to make doubly sure I'd made myself perfectly clear.

"Wait… If I smile at you and it seems like… I don't want to lead you to believe that…"

"Cass… just chill out alright?" he laughed, seemingly amused by my apprehension.

Over the next few visits, both to my surprise and relief, he stuck to his word and behaved himself. There were no more enticing looks, wily grins, or witty comments with hidden meanings. Once he got the idea of a chance to hook up out of his system we found that conversation flowed quite easily between us – as I'd kinda expected. His cool-headedness and laid-back attitude, blended with the relaxed atmosphere of his place just made me want to hang out with him and topic-hop for hours. And plus, Ace isn't exactly big on deep conversation and I was enjoying letting my lips run loose over anything that didn't involve dodgy deals or money.

Keith's number one thing in life (apart from getting high) was the electric guitar... although, sometimes I got the feeling that those two things went hand in hand. He'd travelled all the way to Los Angeles to buy his pride and joy – a Gibson Les Paul – and he'd turn up his little amplifier in the corner of his lounge and play off-the-cuff amazing stuff. "You think that's good… you should see me on LSD," he'd say with a modest grin. Not that I knew what LSD was at the time. His main influences were Blues and Rock 'n Roll artists like Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis, and he'd even written a few originals which I marveled over.

Those Chambers guys amaze me; Chris with his intellect, Eyeball with his sketching and Keith with his music. But Keith was the first one that didn't seem tied down by what everyone in town thought of him. Sure, he knew first-hand what it was like to grow up a Chambers in Castle Rock but he didn't give a shit what anyone thought, because to him, he was above the rest and too cool to care. He'd found other musicians in a neighboring town that were aiming for the same 'sound' that Keith could deliver so effortlessly, and his plan was to get that unique something they had between them out to an audience. Sure, he had to do some dodgy shit to pay the bills at the time, but he knew that Castle Rock can't tie you down forever unless you let it.

"So why don't you tell that to your cousin's?" I'd ask.

"I have. But hearin' it from me won't do them any good," he'd say. "They'll just have to learn to believe it themselves."

Something about that just didn't sit right with me. Every time I thought of the topic, all I felt was pissed off. Why should these guys have to learn it themselves, when they shouldn't have been put in a box and labeled in the first place. The desire to make things right clung to me like a growth that couldn't be cut out. I didn't have the faintest idea on how I'd go about it, but I'd be keeping an open mind…

On one of those 'delivery' nights, I'd been hot and taken off my jacket, and Keith caught sight of my stitches. I ended up telling him the whole story, or what I knew of it, and found out that we had a lot more in common that we thought. Months ago, Ace had mentioned to me that a cousin of Eyeball's had been beaten so bad as a kid by his father that he couldn't remember anything before he turned ten – and it turned out that Keith was that cousin. Head trauma causing the brain to block out memories. He didn't like to talk about it for long and it actually seemed to send him into a dark corner that I was more than happy to bring him out of again, but the brief mention created a unique connection between us.

At the end of two weeks, on my fourth and last planned delivery to him, I wondered what Ace had in store for me next. Right from the start he'd told me there would be more to come if I did well, and so my hopes of continuing my usual routine were high – visiting Keith, smoking a few joints, stumbling back to Vince's place wasted, falling asleep in Ace's truck and waking up on his couch or in his bed depending on how far he'd been willing to carry me. Good times… But with Ace's unpredictable nature, who knew what he'd decide to have me do next. And there was still one favor that I'd been dying to ask of Keith, and I had to do it that night just in case it was my last chance.

"This might be my last night here," I said with a bitter-sweet grin. "Been good gettin' to know you though."

"Ace is tearing you away from me?" he grinned, deciding to risk a stir. "He's is a lucky guy havin' someone like you."

"Well… thanks," I blushed. "And just in case he does… can I ask you a favor? Can you give Chris a message for me?"

I hadn't seen Chris in over six weeks, but he was never far from my mind. I'd wished I'd told Chris about Ace and I when I had a chance. I was only expecting to put it off for a few days and confess… but it just never happened. And now Chris would surely know – either by working it out for himself or from hearing rumors around town, or maybe even hearing it from his brother. But he should've heard it from me. It was my duty to tell him. But I didn't… because I'd been too pussy to admit it to him.

And now I couldn't see him at all because Ace prohibited me to. Because now I knew about things that he couldn't risk me repeating. Or maybe Ace just wanted to keep me away from Chris because he hated him and he didn't want me hanging out and being all friendly with the enemy. In any case, I'd chosen lust over our friendship – plain and simple.

"Sure thing," Keith said. "Fire away."

"Can you tell him…" I'd only intended to give him a message, but the opportunity to set up a meeting with him suddenly dawned on me. With Keith's help, it could be easy. I could do this. I could see my dear friend and apologize to him in person – as would be the noble thing to do. But as Ace said, he's got eyes like a hawk and if he ever found out, who knew what kind of raging outburst it would create. In the end I decided not to risk it. I'd have to do the indecent thing instead and send him a message. "Can you tell him, I'm really sorry about being such a selfish bitch?"

I hadn't noticed the distress build up, but suddenly felt my bottom lip start shaking uncontrollably. A tear came to my eye and I quickly wiped it away, wishing Keith hadn't noticed it. With a deep breath, I tried to clear my head and push the guilty thoughts away, but another tear came, then another and I ended up burying my head in my hands, trying to hide my misery.

"Cass, it's alright," he told me, leaning sympathetically over the table and patting me on the shoulder. I'd already told him about how well Chris and I got on, and that I'd fucked up our friendship by going with Ace – so he understood.

"I'm sorry, I really am, but at the same time, I don't' wish I'd done anything differently. I'm such a… selfish bitch," I bawled.

Keith seemed to say 'fuck it' and walked around to my sofa to comfort me. With his heavy, muscly arm tightly pulling me into him, it felt like I was being hugged by a big cuddly mascot. "Come on, stop blubbering," he said, wiping my cheeks with his big hands. "Chris is alright. You know he's doin' a fuckin' lot better since meeting you so, stop with all this being _selfish_ bullshit. You've done a lot for that kid, probably more than you'll ever know."

"Thanks," I said between little snuffles. That was some compliment he'd paid me, and it did make me feel a lot better about the situation. Not entirely guilt free, but better.

"Look at me," he said, raising my chin in his hand. "I ain't tellin' Chris you're a selfish bitch. But I will tell him you miss him. OK?"

"OK." I took a deep breath and tried my best to ignore how good it felt being wrapped up in his arms. "Thanks Keith… I think I'd better go. It's getting late." Knowing I'd cried on him, I glanced down at his T-shirt and noticed I left a wet patch. "Sorry," I laughed, pointlessly trying to wipe them away. "Got you a bit wet there."

"You don't want a lift?"

"No, I'm OK. The fresh air should do me good. But just in case I don't see you for a while…" I decided to hug him. Hey friends are allowed to hug aren't they? And that's all we were… friends.


	16. Chapter 15: White Pony

**White Pony**

* * *

A lot of people say that the best part is getting paid, and I'm one of them. Maybe it came about through being brought up on the bare bones, maybe it was from being on the streets for a few weeks, I don't know. But, there was always something about pay day that would perk me up and make me more way more productive than usual.

So when I returned back to Vince's after my fourth and final delivery, again I parked myself on his bonnet and stared up at the stars. But instead of dropping off to sleep like usual, I was eagerly awake and ready to be paid. The wait for Ace to return was a lot longer than I expected it to be though… no wonder I'd usually fall asleep and wake up in the wee hours of the morning on Ace's couch. What was he out doing anyway?

At around 3.30am, mumbled voices travelled through the air from a distance, and soon after, footsteps crushed the gravel of Vince's driveway. I peeked back over my shoulder to see Ace and Vince behind me dressed completely in black – black jeans, black zipped jacket, black steel-capped boots, black gloves – not what they were wearing when I'd been dropped off a few hours earlier.

"She's awake. That's a first," Ace mumbled.

"What are you gonna tell her?" Vince mumbled back.

"Nothin', just shut-up."

_Guys, I've got pretty good ears… especially at night… and especially on pay day._

"Get the fuck off my car O'Connor!" Vince spat in contempt.

"I'm sorry," I said innocently, sliding off the car while being sure to make my runners screech down the hood. They were too soft to scratch it and seeing Vince's face crumble at the noise sure was satisfying. "Is that better?"

Ace smirked at my defiance as Vince agitatedly ran his hands over the hood; not that he could see much in near darkness. "If I find a scratch, you're fuckin' paying."

"Been robbing the liquor store without me?" I asked Ace, choosing to avoid lengthening the pointless quarrel with Vince.

He grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me in front of him, and I rolled my eyes in pleasure as his gloved hands slid underneath my jacket and raked lightly over my tummy. "Course not. If I was gonna do that, I'd be dragging you along for sure."

"Drag me where? Sorry, what were we talking about?" I joked, playing the sucker, but knowing all too well that he was turning on the charm to dig his way out of a tight spot. I didn't care if he wanted to keep this from me. What were the chances of it being any more than some petty break-in anyway?

* * *

After the ride back to Ace's place, he pulled a beer out of the fridge and casually took the dining chair next to mine at his kitchen table. "Keith been alright so far?" he asked, cracking off the cap.

"Of course… we get along OK," I said, choosing my words very carefully.

"OK, good. Got the cash?"

"Sure." I handed him the usual rolled up wad from Keith. Seeing over two grand in cash never failed to make my eyes go wide. _I could buy a brand new car for that… a nice car._ He counted out $250 to hand to me and it felt like pittance compared to the large amount he had remaining. "Thanks," I said folding it and tucking it into my jeans pocket, only wishing it was more.

"Now. Let's discuss the next few weeks."

"I'm all ears."

From the wad, he flicked out another $500, folded it and cunningly held it out to me between three fingers as if daring me to take it. "You just got a pay rise." I stared at the cash in his hand like he was offering me food and I hadn't eaten in a week. I licked my lips at it. But at the same time I remained cautious. I wasn't about to sign anything until he'd told me what the deal was.

"Tell me what I have to do, then I'll… consider it," I said, in an effort to deny him _total_ control over me. Aw geez… who was I kidding?

"I want you to start making the pickups from Diego. Well, not Diego directly of course, but one of his boys. I'll take you out there in a few days to meet the guy, and then you're on your own. Whether you do the pickup and delivery in the same night, I don't care. Just give me the money on time and $500 bucks in the hand again at the end of next week."

"OK, I can do that… anything else? Any other '_catches' _I need to know about?"

"We both know you need this Cass, so you may as well cut the act like you've got a say in it."

"Aw… fine," I pouted, conceding and slipping the thick wad of cash out from between his fingers.

"And this," he said, counting out another wad, "is to buy the next lot. $1,550 dollars. I'll hang onto this for now, but it's just so you know the amount the guy's expecting."

"Fuck this is a lot of money…"

"Yeah, street value of this shit's 10 grand a kilo."

"Fuck!" I burst out with a laugh.

"Expensive habit…"

"I don't have to erm… you know… test it or anything before I buy it do I?"

"You don't have to do anything you don't wanna do. I've been dealing with these guys for months without any problems, so don't worry about a thing."

* * *

It was an hour's drive through the countryside, out to the place – or should I say, palace – where I'd be making the pickup's from. As well as learning the way through the roads, I spent some quiet time laying back in Ace's '49, with the top down, listlessly staring up at the vast starry night sky. It had been a beautiful summer's day and, although the air was cooling, the residual heat from the highway continued to rise up around us making me loathe having to later don on the jacket to hide the goods. I needed to buy a handbag.

At around 11 we pulled up to this mansion on a massive block of open space, and only distant lights could be seen from the neighboring houses. Even without stepping an inch towards the door you could just smell the money wafting throughout the property. Six huge stone pillars lined the front, reaching the second of two stories, and huge wooden double doors stood in the center of a countless number of windows which lined the two floors.

A circular driveway went from the road, right past the front doors of the mansion, then back out to the road. No cars were parked on the circular driveway, but there were about 20 parked on the grass to the side of the huge building. I guessed it was a rule to keep the way clear for cars to use the driveway freely. Ace drove into the property, and just as I thought he'd pull off to the side to park in amongst the other cars, he kept on driving… and arrogantly parked right outside the huge wooden double doors. I grinned as I threw on my jacket and I wondered why I'd expected anything else of him.

Ace knocked, using one of the big brass door knockers, and a short, stocky doorman answered. "Yuh?" he said, eyeing us warily.

"Here to see Carl," Ace said.

"Hey, I don't know you from a bar a'soap."

"It's Ace, Carl knows I'm comin'."

"Ace huh?" He looked down his little guest list and found Ace's name. "Alright, you're clear." He stepped back to release the latch on the door and it was pulled open in front of us revealing an impressive entrance way leading to a long hall. Ace seemed to know where he was headed, and so I proceeded to follow him, but the guy put his hand on my shoulder forbidding me from going any further. "Not you," he bellowed. "You ain't on the list."

Calmly, Ace turned to him and gently removed the man's hand from my shoulder. "No-one touches her. Got it?"

The guy gave him a haughty look as if to say, 'who do you think you are?', but after one calm, yet menacing look from Ace, the guy backed off and granted me access. Wise choice. If he'd known what happens to people who argue with Ace, he would have laid out the red carpet and had a ready poured glass of JD's for me.

We stepped into, what looked like, the main room which spoke nothing less than lavish and luxurious with a hint of snooty. Italian classical music filled the air, huge roman sculptures lined the walls and at the back, a massive staircase with an antique looking banister curved up towards the second floor. These guys were loaded… whoever they were.

I felt slightly underdressed in my jeans and jacket as we made our way through the hubbub of the well-to-do crowd, but Ace didn't seem to care. He walked as boldly and assertively as he always did, and headed straight towards the big-wig looking guy sat in the center of the crowd, with two sleazy looking girls clutching him from either side.

"Carl," said Ace, confidently approaching him while I waited a few feet back, a little unsure of what was expected of me. "Been a while."

"Well look who it is. Ladies, if you'll excuse me I've got a little 'business' to take care of," he said with a cool grin. He slid out from under the two girls and stood to straighten himself, to prepare for business. As he stepped forwards to lead Ace away, he noticed me cautiously waiting. "Well I'll be dammed. Cassie."

"Uh... you know me?" I asked looking him over. He looked about 40, stood tall and slim in an expensive white Italian suit, his black hair was slicked back and he wore heavy gold rings on almost every finger. So, I couldn't help frown in confusion when he said my name like we were old friends…

"What, you know her?" Ace echoed.

"Yeah," Carl said, appearing slightly confused himself. "What you don't remember me?"

He led us up the huge staircase at the back of the room, and strolled us down a long red-carpeted hallway to a small side room. I followed Ace in and we each took a seat around the poker table as Carl chose to play some classical music on the antique phonograph behind us.

"So, Ace. Haven't seen you for a while," Carl said, strolling towards a painting hanging on the wall. He swung it open on its hinges to reveal a small safe which he secretly dialed the combination to.

"Well, I just came to introduce you to Cassie here, but it seems that you two've already met."

"Indeed we have. Many times."

"How do you know me?" I asked becoming more intrigued with each passing word.

"Lewis… or have you forgotten him too?"

"Oh… right. Well, Lewis tried to um… put me six feet under. And it's trigged some kinda memory loss… it's kinda complicated… I think."

"So you remember nothing?" he asked, turning from his safe, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Nope… sorry…"

"Fuck me…" He strolled back to the poker table, took a seat on the opposite side of Ace and I, and passed him the regular sized paper package along with a smaller paper package about the size of a shirt pocket, mirror and a razor.

Ace tipped the bag up and a few pieces of white rock rolled out. He then cut up a few fat rails, rolled a dollar bill from his wallet and I watched in astonishment the white powder disappeared up his nose inch by inch. He pushed it over to Carl who had one also and then Carl pushed it over to me. I hesitated, unsure of whether I was really expected to do this or not, but Ace immediately stepped in. "She doesn't have to do anything. Besides, you've never done me wrong before, so as long as you keep it that way, we won't have a problem."

"I've always liked you boy," Carl laughed, playing down Ace's authoritativeness. "Now, why don't you get yourself a drink at the bar downstairs? Cassie and I have some catchin' up to do."

"Anything you have to say to her you can say in front of me."

"Just go Ace. It's OK, she'll be out in a minute."

Ace shrugged and gave in, and slapped Carl's wad of cash down on the poker table. He left, leaving the door wide open, and me alone with this unfamiliar acquaintance.

"So you really don't remember anything huh?"

"No."

"That's a pity. You used to be a good paying runner."

"Runner? What do you mean?"

"Exactly what you're doin' now. Pickin' up the drugs and delivering 'em. That's what Ace has got you doin' ain't it? That's what you're here for?"

"Well… yeah."

"You used to do the same thing for Lewis."

"Seriously? Wow…"

"Everything was goin' alright for a while, until you started questioning him on why he weren't payin' you nothin'. He still refused to give you a dime and so you, shall we say, 'spread your wings'. Through his contacts you started pickin' up your own business. I remember you were quite the little negotiator."

"Wow… really?"

"Yeah. And although I can't give you your old client base back, I just know you got the potential to pick up some more custom for us."

"I dunno… I'm gonna have to talk to Ace about this…"

"Yeah, hidin' it from the boyfriend didn't go too well for you last time, did it?"

"Why? What happened?"

"All that new business you were pickin' up, you didn't tell Lewis 'bout none of it cos you knew he'd wanna piece of the pie. And so, when he eventually found out you'd been makin' a stack behind his back, he started keepin' you under lock and key."

"Fuck… really?"

"Yeah, I heard nothin' from you for a while. Not 'til I had to swing by to see about this gear that'd apparently been stolen. Lewis weren't there, but you were, and you knew exactly what'd happened to it."

"Holy shit… so you're the one I grassed to?"

"Yeah," he snickered at the term. "We made a deal that you'd tell me what you knew if I'd get you outta there. Then the next day when me and the boys went round to collect Lewis and uphold our end of the bargain, you'd both scarpered. We don' know for sure who tipped him off, but now, after talkin' to Ace, we reckon Thomas must've caught wind of it."

"This is so weird. It's like you're telling someone else's story."

"You used to make some good money out of it Cassie. But if you do find us new buyers, you're gonna needa know what you're talkin' about." He glanced down at the mirror which had one rail left on it. "What's weird is you turning that down," he said with a sly grin. "I ain't never seen you do that before. You always had to keep up with the boys. That was one thing I always liked about you."

I stared down at the glistening, finely chopped powder with my stomach twisting into knots. As far as _I_ knew, I'd never done anything except smoke weed before… and I didn't know how I'd react to this. What if I couldn't handle it and acted like a complete embarrassment? But on the other hand, Ace seemed fine… and I could do anything he could do…

"Go ahead," Carl encouraged.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I grabbed Ace's dollar bill and re-rolled it, then sucked half the line up my nose. It didn't hurt, in fact it was relatively smooth, but when I rubbed my nose I felt my whole nostril go completely numb.

"See? Ain't nothin' to it. Gonna have the other half though? Don't wanna go wastin' none now."

From the peer pressure, I took the other half and rubbed my nose again feeling all my nasal passages turn numb. All I could taste was bitterness, and I sniffed as I felt a drip start at the back of my nose. I looked up at Carl who was sitting smugly, seemingly pleased with himself for conning me into it.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"My heart… pounding through my chest," I said, placing my hand there. And then instantly, it was like I woke up from a lifelong sleep. Carl gave a smirk as he noticed me go 'bing!' "Actually… I've never felt better."

The saying, "I feel like a million dollars" didn't come close. I felt amazing. It was like someone had suddenly unveiled the true meaning of the word 'life' and I wondered why it'd taken me nearly 19 years to figure out something that was clearly so simple. I felt so onto-it and full of energy that doing anything seemed possible and I wanted to do everything. I wondered if that was why they called it 'riding the white pony' because life suddenly felt like an easy, blissful ride and for once in forever I felt truly content and happy. I was bursting to go out and see Ace because I was just so ecstatic, and as I stood I was overwhelmed by my energy levels.

"Nice to meet you Carl… again," I said, probably at a million words an hour.

"You too. See you again." He handed me the package, as I'd almost forgotten it in my state, and I tucked it away in my jacket before busting out of the room, bolting down the hallway and down the staircase to the main room where Carl had told Ace to wait.

Ace was sitting at the bar with a drink chatting up some chick, but I was so happy and naïve that I bustled up to them both without a care.

"Hi, how are you?" I asked her, feeling the need to talk to anyone about anything. She didn't say hi back, just laughed at me in a rather mocking way and flicked her long black hair over her shoulder. Her rudeness didn't bother me at all though; this boy was mine and I was past 'needing' to him to take me home. "Ready to go?" I asked him, slipping my arms around his waist and kissing into his neck.

"What did you do?" he asked, turning to look at me. He wasn't stupid… "Carl eh? Typical."

I didn't know what he meant by that, nor did I care. "Come on Ace, let's go," I said pulling on his arm like a child.

"After I finish my drink. This is… erm…"

"Elaine," she glowered, dismayed by the sudden company.

"No," I mumbled into his neck. "I _need_ you right now, or…" and then I whispered, "or I'll make a mess all over the front seat of your car on my own."

Ace shot back the rest of his drink and slid off his bar stool, slinging his arm over my shoulder, not even bothering to say goodbye to 'Elaine'. When I said I needed him now, I meant it. I was so fuckin' horny that I could hardly walk straight.

* * *

We drove a mile or so away from the house and Ace pulled over to the side of the rural road and killed the ignition, leaving us in the silence of the dark night. "Good shit ain't it?" he said leaning over me as I lay back on the seat.

"Incredible."

As Ace worked on removing my jeans, I felt so bold and daring that I saved him the effort and rapidly stripped myself naked, carelessly dumping my clothes on the floor of his car.

"Fuck…" he laughed, looking me over as I lay stark on the front seat. "Where have you been hiding all these months?"

"Just, hurry the fuck up," I moaned impatiently, my abdomen feeling so tense I thought it'd burst.

He lent over me again and I gazed over his shoulder up at the beautiful stars shining like tiny flawless diamonds as he pushed his way in and went for broke; it seemed I wasn't the only one feeling like I had enough energy to run home. About half an hour, three positions and three orgasms later, I giddily sat up as the familiar feeling of reality began to surround me again.

"Fuck, you're a fiend on that shit," Ace laughed doing up his pants.

I began dressing myself and found the pocket sized packet. Carl must've slipped it to me as I was leaving. "Yeah… and Carl gave me the rest." I grinned at him mischievously, playfully dangling it between my thumb and forefinger.

"So, you wanna go another one?"

"Hell yeah," I whispered. I knew having more was a bad idea because the last thing I wanted was to become addicted to it, but reality and normality wasn't anywhere near as much fun and I badly wanted to be back in the land of perfection.

"Alright," he said, snatching the bag from my hand. "You're on."

A few minutes later… 'Bing!' After taking it in, getting back up there was instantaneous. As we drove through the country roads I nuzzled into Ace, talked his ear off for ten minutes about absolute shit, and then decided that I needed to burn more energy.

"So what do you wanna do tonight?"

"Go home and fuck your brains out some more, what do you think?"

"Hey, I'm all for that," I said, friskily running my hand over his thigh. But is there anything we can do in Castle Rock that's… thrilling? I'm feeling up for anything right now."

"Anything?" he said, glancing sideways at me with a daring grin and a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Yeah, anything," I challenged him with a grin just as daring.

"Alright." He shifted in his seat and tightened his grip on the wheel to get ready for the adrenaline kick that was about to sock us in the guts. "You want a thrill babe; I'll give you a fuckin' thrill." Then he switched off the headlights.

The bad boy had been awakened. With no streetlights, all we had was the dim light of the dashboard. We couldn't even see five feet in front of the car. Then he began to gently push his foot further down on the gas and I watched the speedo as the needle slowly passed 60. An electrifying feeling rippled through me as I caught wind of the insane idea in his head and, feeling lose and wild, I kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "Give it to me hard… I like it hard."

He licked his lips as his daring grin became almost evil, and I pulled away from him and shifted to my side of the car. I took a firm grip on the seat with one hand, and on the side of the door with the other, as if getting ready for a ride on the most thrilling roller coaster ever.

_He's really gonna do it._ _He's gonna take it round the fucking clock. _My grin became so tense it hurt my cheeks and my eyes grew so crazily wide they rapidly dried out after every blink.

As the speedo climbed past 70, the breeze picked up around us and my stomach began to throb with excitement. My heart rate was already going off the chart, but as we got faster and faster I could feel it banging away in my chest harder and harder. It was a straight highway and Ace knew it well, but obviously, it fuckin' dangerous doing that speed in pitch black darkness with no headlights. But neither of us bore any sense of danger. The only thing in the world which had any relevance at that moment was the feeling of hurtling at outrageous speeds, into the blind darkness, like riding a bullet shot from a gun.

Ace lost his grin as he sunk into a state of fixed focus, so strong that nothing could tear his stare away from the highway - except to eagerly glance down at his speedo every few seconds. As the needle passed 80, the corner of his lip rose for a moment and then dropped again as quick as it came. The rush of wind became stronger and the car began to vibrate a little, but with Ace's capable mechanics work, she was as steady as a surgeon's hand.

I took a brief glance to my right, out towards the endless miles of farm land, but with no moonlight that night, it was too dark to see trees and no house lights were on. All that surrounded me was Ace, the car and the nothingness in front.

A squeal of excitement rose up from my throat just before the needle hit 90 and a loud "Woooohoooo!" escaped from Ace's mouth as we past it. His grip on the wheel became tighter and I'm sure I could see his knuckles turn white. My body was so tense I felt like my muscles could shatter like stone and all I wanted was to go faster.

"Get ready to blow babe!" Ace called madly, as the needle sat on the verge of hitting the 100. His eyes rapidly darted between the highway and the speedo, and he was so worked up it looked like he was about to lift out of his seat. He risked a glance at me and honestly I have never seen him ride a thrill like that one ever since.

We hit 100, which was the limit, and another "Woooohoooo!" came from us in unison as we finally met the challenge of turning Ace's '49 into an insane amusement ride. But for a split second, the euphoria made me feel like we were flying. It was like we no longer needed the car, and could just spread our wings and they'd gracefully lift us into the air, continuing our blissful journey into the darkness. Ace wore an expression of elation, ecstasy and euphoria, as I'm sure did I. I'd had one lungful of air since 90, and finally took another once the needle met its ultimate peak; the rush had literally taken my breath away.

* * *

"Can't I just have a tiny bit more?" I moaned, lying in Ace's bed the next afternoon feeling drowsy and lethargic… well, like complete and utter shit.

"You wanted it, you deal with it. Besides, there is no more." Ace stood in the doorway, appearing to be suffering no comedown at all. So unfair…

"Yeah, there's a whole fucking half pound of it under your floorboards!"

"So what? You wanna rip off Keith? Besides, the bags sealed. He'll know."

"Keith would give me some… he wouldn't care. Ring him and ask."

"Sleep it off, you'll feel better later on."

"I hate you…" I whined like a spoilt brat, jamming my head under the pillow.

"Maybe this'll teach you not to be so fuckin' greedy."

I'd been so wired that night that I'd been unable to drop off to sleep until around 8am. But when sleep finally came, it'd hit me like a train – fast and hard. Seven hours later I'd woken and found that Ace was already up and doing stuff, as if the previous night hadn't even happened. After my rant from being refused more, I was asleep again five minutes later, and I lay there for the next six hours or more. Then, at around 9pm I woke again, feeling OK, but still wishing I had the spark in me from the night before.

And so that night, as I nestled the package into my jacket pocket, I cunningly took all my cash with me. Ace wouldn't give me any, but surely Keith would sell me some…

* * *

Just over three hours later, bang on 12.30am, I stood eagerly knocking on Keith's door dying for him to let me in.

"Cassie," he said, acting as cool and casual as he always did. "You're back."

"Yep," I beamed, happily stepping in the door. "And it looks like I'm here to stay."

"OK, cool. And good timing; just had a few buddies around and... lucky they didn't see you or they never would've left."

"You flatter me, you do," I chucked in high spirits, keen to get straight to business.

We each took our regular sofa's on opposite sides of the coffee table and made the exchange between package and money, as per usual. But after being so keen on getting 'up there' again all night, I suddenly began to battle with myself over the idea of asking to buy some back. _You've only just gotten over last night. You really wanna put yourself through that again so soon? _Argued one side. _But that won't happen 'cos you can just top yourself up again in the morning. Ace can't take away from you what's yours… _Argued the other side.

"Keith… can I…" I said, licking my lips at the package.

"What you want some of this?"

"Yeah…"

"Ooh… I dunno…" he said, holding it up teasingly. "What would Ace say?"

"He won't care. We were on it last night."

"And now you want more?"

"I'll buy it off you. What can I get for $100?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It's a great idea. Last night was fucking awesome… literally."

"Well… I guess so." He finally gave in, but it didn't come without a warning. "You're old enough to make your own decisions, but you be careful with this shit OK?"

"I just want it for tonight… and maybe a little bit tomorrow morning. Then I'm off it for the rest of the week."

"You promise?"

"Promise. Come on Keith, it's Saturday night!"

"Alright," he said, standing to take the package into his kitchen. "I'll just measure some out."

After all the effort of trying to convince him, I began to feel nervous as Keith's words sunk in. He obviously knew a lot more about it than I did. And as he'd said a couple of weeks earlier, I was just a young, innocent, naïve girl. Looking back on it as I write this now… I'd agree with him fully.

But despite my reservations, I found myself handing him the cash a few minutes later, and he then invited me to sit next to him on his side of the coffee table. The rails he'd chopped were a lot thinner than the ones Ace had given me and I asked whether it'd be enough.

"Of course it will. You'll probably still wake up feeling shitty, but not so shitty if you take it easy."

I shrugged my shoulders and did the line, and he went ahead with his straight after me. Euphoria hit me again in an instant, and suddenly I didn't know why I'd argued with myself over buying it.

"What could possibly be wrong with being this happy?" I laughed.

"You'd be surprised," he grinned, skimming the residue off the mirror with his finger before licking it off.

Every time I felt like I was coming down, I'd just have another one and be right back up there again. There seemed to be no limit on how many times I could do it without the buzz feeling any less. A few joints went over the coffee table as usual and he poured us a few shots of whiskey too, so I was pretty hammered and probably acting like a fruit loop the entire night, but I didn't have a care in the world. I felt like everything was so perfect that nothing could go wrong.

"Ready for another one?" he asked, cutting up a couple more as I danced, probably like a lunatic, around his lounge.

"Sure. So did you talk to Chris?" I asked, sitting down beside him again on his sofa.

"Yep. And he said he misses you too," he smiled.

I had my line and smiled at Keith, feeling so happy to hear that Chris didn't hate me completely. "I should see him, shouldn't I?"

"Sure. You're friends. Friends should see each other."

"I like having you as a friend too. We are friends aren't we?"

"Of course we are," he said with a friendly smile, gently kissing me on the nose.

"I could hardly feel that," I laughed, rubbing the tip. "Funny how your entire nose goes numb ain't it?"

"Yeah… so, how 'bout here then?" he asked, kissing me softly on the lips. "Could you feel that?"

"Hmm… only just. I think my face is a little numb." I was so high, happy and caught up in the sensation of feeling like half my face was missing that it didn't even dawn on me… he'd just kissed me.

"Alright, can you feel this?" He slipped his fingers through my hair and pashed me with a strength that was no less than what I would've expected from a guy of his size. His mouth worked away at mine like a vacuum powered suction cup, drawing my tongue into it every now and then.

The unbelievable part was that I was so gone on cocaine, pot and whiskey that I hadn't clicked that this was way, way beyond anything that 'friends' should be doing. The sensation of feeling the numbness surrounding my mouth intrigued me – my entire nasal area, the back of my throat, part of the roof of my mouth; they were all numb. But there was one thing that I could definitely feel – his hand skimming the skin under my singlet, unhooking my bra and softly cupping my breast to gently rub circles around my nipple. That finally knocked the sense back into me.

"What are you doing?" I suddenly panicked, quickly pulling away.

"Shit… I'm sorry," he said, with a small laugh. "I guess I got a little carried away there for a minute."

"Holy shit Keith… you can't tell anyone about that, you got it?"

"Don't worry, I won't tell a soul. I swear it on my mother's good name."

"You better not. Because if Ace finds out, who knows what could happen. He'd hit the roof!" I had my hands behind my back, frantically trying to re-hook my bra.

"Cass, I ain't gonna say nothin'. Everything's gonna be fine. But if he ever does find out, I'll take the fall. It'll be worth it 'cos…" He cupped the side of my face, turning my head to look at him and tucked my hair back behind my ear. "Cos, wow… you are incredible."

_Oh my god… you cannot go there Cass,_ I warned myself. Ace had never told me I was 'incredible' before… in fact, I couldn't recall _any_ guy telling me anything of the sort. Maybe, "that was incredible," sure, I'd got that one a lot. But the way Keith said it made me melt and I had to bite back the urge to let him have another go. Luckily (or unluckily…) for me, our gaze was interrupted.

"What's that noise?" I asked, hearing a rumble ride up the side of the house.

"Sounds like your boyfriends here," he said casually, standing and moving towards the door. If there's one person who's not intimidated at all by Ace, it's Keith. Kinda understandable I suppose considering he's 5 years older and twice as big.

The rumble stopped and we heard a car door slam. I raced for my jacket and guiltily threw it on, zipping it up tight.

"OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR! NOW!" boomed Ace's voice from outside. In no particular hurry, Keith unlocked the door and Ace booted it open. "Where is she?" he said irately, pushing past Keith and finally laying eyes on me as I stood quietly quivering in the lounge.

"Fucking chill man!" Keith yelled back. "You almost broke my fucking door!"

"Do you have any idea what fucking time it is?" he asked, tensely pointing a finger me.

Suddenly things were no longer so happy; my high had turned up on its head and ultimately become an all-time low. I glanced up at the clock… 4am. Two hours later than I'd usually arrive back at Vince's place. I couldn't believe it. I'd been there for over three hours and it seemed like about an hour. My sense of time had been virtually non-existent.

"Shit… sorry Ace," I said guiltily.

"You're on it again aren't you?" His eyes narrowed at me and he glanced at the coffee table where the evidence still lay.

"Well… I'm old enough to make my own decisions." I wanted to stand up to him but wimped out and instead spoke in a small voice. The last thing I wanted was to rev him up even more. "Besides, you didn't seem to care at all night last night."

"You only touch that when you're with me, got it? Now get in the fucking car. I'm gonna have a few words with Keith."

I immediately obeyed… well, I went outside and closed the door behind me, then stood with my ear pressed against it to listen in.

"What's your problem?" Keith asked. "She lost track of time, big fucking deal."

"You could've reminded her and you didn't. So what the fuck was going on?"

"Nothing…"

"You're fucking lying. Did you make a move on her?"

"What? No!"

"Like I can believe anything _you_ say… I knew I shouldn't have fucking trusted you."

"Then why did you?"

There was a long pause and I could hear Ace's mind going berserk through the door. "I had my reasons. But you know what? I don't need this shit. Find someone else."

"What? But…"

"I'm out." His voice loudened as he came closer to the door and so I bolted for the car. But I could still hear his last words loud and clear… in fact they were so loud they powerfully reverberated throughout the entire neighborhood. "And stay the fuck away from Cass!"

He tore out Keith's door and slammed it behind him before irately tearing down the path. I kept my head down and took a sneaking, and probably guilty, glance up at him. He had that vacant look in his eyes again like he did at the diner all those months ago, and I feared his unpredictability in that state of mind. Anything can happen when Ace is in a rage and I was a sitting duck, staring directly down the barrel of a gun.

He didn't say a word to begin with, but I didn't need words to tell me things were not looking good for our relationship. Keith and I had made the pact not to tell, but we didn't need to. Ace is like a human lie detector and he'd already jumped straight to the right conclusion… and I knew it. And so, during the whole journey back to my place – yes, my place, not his… now if that's not a sign that things were about to crumble, then I don't know what is – I desperately tried to clear my fucked up head. Because I knew that the only way of saving this, if there was any way at all, was to confess the truth.

It had only been a couple of days since I'd been home, but as we pulled into my driveway, it felt like I hadn't been there in forever. Ace killed the ignition and we sat in silence for a moment with me desperately wanting to slide over and feel him in my arms, and with him fuming and steaming mad like a bull.

"You've got one chance to tell me the truth. So you make sure you choose your next words very carefully," he warned, his icy blue eyes flaming in my direction.

"I lost track of time," I fumbled, knowing that answer was as lame as it sounded.

"Did you fuck him?"

"What? No! Jesus Ace!"

"OK, that sounded like an honest answer… so what happened then?"

"He umm… kinda… kissed me…"

"So he just made a move on you? Or you kissed him back?"

"Well…" I fumbled again, trying to get the words out. I wanted to tell him that I was so up in the clouds that I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late, but I knew how pathetic that sounded… and I began to question myself on whether that was even true. I could've lied and pledged my innocence, but I'd already fumbled... and that was enough of an answer for Ace.

"You know what Cass? That time I told you I waited for you for a month, I wasn't lying. The first time in ever I've tried to be loyal to a girl and she turns around and does this. You wanted me to trust you, well you just fuckin' blew it." He'd spoken to me sternly, but at the same time I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"I'm sorry," I pleaded, the tears beginning to stream down my cheeks. "And I never knew how to tell you this but I… love you."

"Don't give me that shit. Now get the fuck outta my car."


	17. Chapter 16: Assertive Amends

**Assertive Amends**

* * *

_Cass… you're a stupid, stupid bitch…_ I told myself. I literally wanted to smack my head against a brick wall like that might knock some sense back into me. I didn't dare try it though because it was only bound to make me stupider than I already was…

It was late afternoon, roughly twelve hours after Ace had forced me out of his car, even with me begging and crying for him not to. Strangely enough though, I'd slept like a baby all through the day and had woken up without much of a comedown. So, that'd left my head feeling clear enough for me to come to the conclusion, with 100% absolute certainty, that I indeed was a stupid, stupid bitch.

I'd had him in my grasp. He was right fucking there and I didn't even know it. All that time I'd spent worrying about 'Sarah', Ace had spent trying to show me his loyalty. And the whole time I'd spent trying to convince him to trust me, I'd been too dense to realize that he already did. You don't tell someone you don't trust about those kinds of risky dealings, and you definitely don't send them around to some other guys place if you think they'll just wind up cheating on you. But I realized that it was too late for hindsight now, because now, he really didn't trust me. And even if I ever did get him back I doubted things would easily pick up where they left off.

As I lay on my bed feeling sorry myself, I heard a slow paced pounding at the front door. I listened for a second and just by the knock I knew that it was him. I hadn't heard the car, but there was no doubt. "Ace?" I said aloud with hope for another chance, wiping away my tears as I rolled off the bed.

His outline showed through the patterned glass door and I remained cautious about his mood as I pulled it open. "Ace, I'm so sorry about last night…"

"I know you are," he said surprisingly calmly, pushing his way past me into the house as he always did. "That's why I've come to hear you out."

"Really?" I asked with a skeptical frown. I was expecting him to continue on with last night's lecture rather than being receptive to an explanation.

"Yeah. So start talking."

"OK…" I said, taking a barstool at the breakfast bar. I realized that this was possibly my one and only chance to fix things, and I didn't want to risk a lie or to fumble again, so I took my time and pussy-footed lightly around my words. "I'd told Keith right off the bat how I felt about you and I told him not to get any ideas. Everything went fine for those couple of weeks… and then last night, out of the blue, he just starts kissing me. And… I can't completely blame him because I… well… I didn't stop him until he tried to take it further," I sighed, staring guiltily at the floor.

"What do you mean he tried to take it further?"

"Well… his hands started to wander," I gulped, flicking a glance up to see his reaction. My face was feeling so hot and flustered that I'm sure I would've been able to cook an egg on my cheek.

"That son of a bitch," Ace seethed, visibly restraining himself from tearing out the door to pay Keith an unwelcomed visit.

"But during that whole two weeks of going around there, doing anything of the sort never even crossed my mind Ace. You've done so much for me… and… like I said, I love you."

"OK," he said with a deep sigh, taking a step forwards to cup my face in his hands. "That sounded like the God honest truth, and that's all I ask."

"Really?" I asked, not allowing my skeptical frown to go anywhere just yet. "So you forgive me?"

"Yeah," he said. I blew out a deep breath as I finally let my worries go and grinned gratefully up into his eyes. "Besides. I went around and fucked Sarah this morning, so now we're even," he shrugged.

"You did wwwhat?" I bit sharply, irritably pulling away from him.

"Yeah. And now I feel a whole lot better about this."

"How can you think that going out and fucking your ex makes us even!"

"Because you don't know how much you pissed me off. Well… now I think you've got the idea," he said smarmily.

"Get the fuck outta my house," I growled so low it was almost a whisper, as I desperately held myself back from slapping him across the face.

"Gee Cass… I thought you said you loved me?" he said with bitter sarcasm, before turning and striding out the front door.

I gasped a lungful of air when I finally remembered to breathe again, and was so sickened by what he'd just told me that I literally ran to the sink. I couldn't believe this was happening. After all the 'good' times we'd had over the last few days it seemed like some sort of vile dream. But it _was_ happening, and I'd just have to find a way of dealing with it.

* * *

_Fuckin' asshole…_ I sobbed over my supper, forcing myself to eat something despite still feeling sick to my stomach about Ace's dirty games. I'd been hurt many times in the past, but nothing tore out my heart and hung it up to dry like this spiteful stunt. I hated the fact that I'd popped the 'L' word as a last desperate attempt to hold on to him... but dam… I wasn't expecting him to throw it back in my face like that. I didn't deserve what he'd done and it made me begin to wonder if I should just let him go. Maybe we just weren't meant to be.

I pushed my supper aside and let my head fall into my arm on the counter as I began to worry about where I'd go from here. He'd made me give him back the $500 he paid me and so I only had a few hundred dollars left. Once that was gone, I'd be broke again. That was what kicked me in the guts the most – Ace knew how much I relied on him and yet he'd had no qualms about pulling the plug on me. I hated relying on anyone simply for that reason, but in this case, I'd had few other options. But now it seemed my only option was to just let everything go and leave town… unless Ace came to his senses and admitted that what he'd done was completely over the top. But I'd never heard him admit he was wrong yet, and I doubted I ever would.

A knock at the door startled me out of my thoughts, but this time, it didn't sound like Ace. I got up to answer it, cautiously opening it a crack, and to my astonishment it was Keith.

"What are you doing here? How'd you find out where I live?" I asked him, surprised that he'd tracked me down.

"I got your address from Chris... I hope that's OK," he said with his usual laid-back, casual air about him as his large hand leant in on the doorway slightly above my head.

"What happened to your face?" He had the fresh signs of a punch-up written on him, with the side of his eye and chin slightly swollen, although he didn't look too worse for wear.

"Ace came 'round and tried to have a go. That guy really goes for it when his temper gets the better of him."

"Yeah… well you deserved it," I said, folding my arms, not wanting to let him off the hook too easily.

"Yeah, I know. And apart from coming around to check you were OK, I wanted to say I'm sorry about last night. I know how you feel about Ace and… I know I crossed the line."

"You did... but honestly, it wasn't entirely your fault. I kept knocking back those shots and… you started it, sure… but I took my time in pushing you off."

"No… I'd told you, you could trust me."

"And I'd told Ace he could trust _me_." There was a moment of silence as we ticked over our thoughts and a smirk rose at the corner of my mouth as I wondered how well Ace had come off in the fight.

"So, did you get any hits in on him?"

"Yeah… I opened the door and he fuckin' lunged at me. At first I was just gonna let him go at it for a bit, but then he pulled the knife and I thought, 'meh' and laid him out," he shrugged.

"Holy shit! You knocked out Ace?" I said, my smile spreading wider. I realize Ace would've gone around there partly for my sake, but after what he did that morning all I could think was, _Good fucking job_.

"What can I say? The guy knows how to fight but, he's not the only one. And you know, if I'd come 'round here and found out that he'd hit you, I'd be trackin' him down again."

"Well… thanks," I said, feeling a blush. "But I'm OK. Ace didn't hurt me. Well, not physically anyway…"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… I don't really wanna talk about it, but we're over." I cast my eyes from the outside flower garden up to him to observe his reaction. He was probably jumping for joy on the inside but he remained respectful enough not to show it.

"Fuck… Cass, I'm sorry," he said, running his fingers back through his short dark hair.

"Yeah, me too."

"Are you gonna be OK?"

"Eventually. Maybe. I dunno."

"Well, if there's anything I can do, you know where I am."

"Actually, I don't think I'll be in town for much longer. I was relying on the money from that job, but now that's over so…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm gonna have to look for another supplier. Don't even know where to start lookin' for one 'round here…"

And with those words, the answer dawned on me like a ray of sunshine. I was seated in the perfect position to solve both our problems, and at the same time I could have one last jab at Ace. A grin spread across my face from ear to ear and Keith stood watching me, confused at why I was slightly bouncing on my tip-toes, my eyes beaming wide like a crazy person.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking me over like I _was_ a crazy person.

"I know the dealer," I said, biting my lip as I quickly checked over my little scheme to make sure that it was in fact as simple as it seemed.

"You fuckin' what?" he beamed back at me.

"Yeah… we could do this. You've got a car right?"

"Parked out front. You're playing dangerous though; Ace won't be happy when he finds out you're using his suppliers."

"They used to be mine too. And besides, Ace is the one who threw in the towel. As far as I'm concerned, it's up for grabs."

"Holy shit Cass… See? I told you you're incredible," he said, knocking me on the chin which made my belly do a mini summersault.

"Well, when you're ready for it, come over 'cos I'll need your car."

"No worries," he said, giving me a look like he wanted to say something, but decided to hold himself back. "Oh and there was one other thing I had to tell you - Go see Chris OK?" With a humble smile he handed me a piece of crumpled paper from his pocket.

"Yeah, I like that idea," I grinned behind his back as he jogged down my front steps.

I pulled inside and closed the door behind me, leaning against it with a wily grin a mile wide. If Ace thought he'd settled the score, he was wrong… because I was about to chalk up a nice big fat one on my side of the board.

* * *

Loose stones rolled down Chris's steep gravel driveway with my every step. Ace probably still wouldn't like it, but I'd come too far and was too excited to turn back now. Keith had given me the address and it turned out that it _was_ fairly close to his place. It was two streets further along, at the end of a steep cul-de-sac, which I'd eagerly climbed with pure joy warming my belly as the idea of seeing my friend again grew nearer to reality.

Near the top of the climb, after struggling with my feet slipping back on rolling stones the whole way up, a rather derelict looking weatherboard house came into view. The white exterior needed a good scrub and the front window had a hole smashed through it, but it was a good sized place. I was never one to judge someone by their house anyway. Ever since my father died, my mother and I moved from shit hole to shit hole all over the state and this one didn't look half bad compared to some of those. Towards the back of the property, they had an awesome view over Castle Rock through the trees – one of the perks of living on top of a hill.

I knocked at the front fly screen and stepped backward down the small steps to wait for an answer. The house seemed really quiet; much quieter than I would've expected considering Chris mentioned there were three younger than him living there. I knocked again, a little louder this time, and was taken aback by the reaction from inside.

"Fuck, I heard ya! Hold your fuckin' horses!"

I took a hard swallow as I made the assumption about whose voice it would be… Chris and Eyeball's father. A grey headed man trudged awkwardly to the door and held open the fly screen as he drunkenly lent against the doorway to stare down at the nervous newcomer to his home. He was fairly good looking – as all the boys were in this family – but you could see more traces of Eyeball than Chris in his face. It was like meeting an old, rugged, unshaven, potbellied version of Eyeball.

"Well, Eyeball's sure got himself a catch this time," he said, seedily looking me up and down. "But he's not here."

"I'm not looking for Eyeball. I'm looking for Chris. Is he around?"

"Chris? Aren't you a little old for a thirteen year old?"

"What? No! I'm not '_with_' him… I'm just a friend of his."

"Not another fuckin' social worker are ya?" he asked, suddenly becoming agitated.

"What? No!"

"Better fuckin' not be. Cos I look after my fuckin' kids good, OK? At least I don't piss off like their fuckin' mother does every other week!"

"Woah… hold on a minute… I'm not a social worker," I said, trying to calm him down. This guy, had issues… boy he had issues. "I just need to talk to Chris."

"Dunno where Chris is. But if you see him, tell him to come home early tonight. The youngin's need lookin' after while I go to the pub." He pushed himself off the doorframe and let the fly screen snap closed as he trudged off back into the house.

_Jesus Chris… he was just as you described,_ I thought to myself as I made the slippery walk back down his steep gravel driveway. It was troubling to think that Chris and the other kids had to deal with that every day when I'd had enough of him after two minutes.

As I reached the gutter at the road, I noticed Eyeball's shit heap slowly slugging its way up the hill. There was nowhere to hide and plus I was sure he'd seen me already, and so I quickly thought of a porky to pull about why I was there. I couldn't tell him I'd been looking for Chris and risk it getting back to Ace now could I?

"Cass, what are you doin' here?" Eyeball asked, parking on the road and clunking his door closed after him.

"Looking for you," I lied.

"What the fuck happened between you and Keith?" he asked with that same laid-back air about him as his cousin, slightly drawing out his words as he always did. "Ace said he tried to fuck you or somethin'."

"Woah, settle down! It wasn't _that_ extreme… "

"Must've been extreme enough for Ace to go 'round there and smack him over…"

"That's not the way I heard it. I heard Ace got knocked out cold."

"Where'd you hear that from?"

"Keith. He came around to check I was OK."

"So he's still hassling you after what he did?"

"He wasn't _hassling_ me… and he only tried to kiss me. He didn't go _that_ far…"

"I bet he would've though. He don't give a fuckin' shit if a girl's taken or not. And he'll keep pushin' you 'til you let him go the mile Cass. I've seen him do it fuckin' millions of times. Sly bastard'll tell a girl anythin' to get between her legs."

"Are you serious? But he seems alright…"

"Trust me. I told Ace not to send you 'round there, but he wouldn't listen and look what he fuckin' did!"

"Dam," I said, showing my surprise. Eyeball did make me a little more wary of Keith, but at the same time, how did I know that Ace hadn't told Eyeball to scare me off him? "Anyway, Ace told me something yesterday and I wanted to ask you if you knew whether it was true… or if he was just tryin' to wind me up."

"What'd he say?"

"He said he… he's been with Sarah again."

"He did what?" Eyeball huffed, rolling his eyes. "He'd just fuckin' got rid of her! Now she'll be hangin' 'round again like a fuckin' bad smell!"

"So, you don't know for sure if he has then?"

"Cass," he said, regrettably shaking his head. "Ace does this sorta shit when he's fucked off."

"Dam…" I said again, disappointedly staring into the gravel as if I'd half hoped for a better answer._ OK, I guess Eyeball wouldn't have said that if Ace was pulling the puppet strings on him,_ I thought to myself. _Maybe Keith is as bad as he says…_

"Hey, Ace'll get over it in a few days," he said reassuringly.

"I think it'll take me a while to get over this myself. And I don't know if I'd take him back after this."

"Well, whatever. I'll see you 'round," he said, walking off up his drive. "But don't forget what I said 'bout Keith."

I was so confused about what to believe that I decided to go ahead with my plans for reinstating the deal between Carl and Keith. I thought I could handle Keith if he tried anything again before I was ready, and more importantly, I needed the money.

As for the mysterious result of the fight… I never did find out whose story was true. All I know is that neither of them looked like they'd been in a huge rumble, and Ace had gone around there a couple of weeks later trying to patch up the deal. So I think both of them were stretching the story a little... or a lot. But that's guys for you.

* * *

I had no idea where to find Chris. He'd told me about how he and his buddies hung out in some tree house on a vacant lot somewhere, but I had no idea where as I'd never been. I decided to walk from his place back to town, maybe through the park and hopefully somewhere I'd run into him. That was the best chance I thought I had of seeing him that day, coincidently bumping into him… and boy was I right. Just as I past Keith's street, who should I see wandering up the road at a distance? Chris.

It was so distant that I could hardly see a face, but I knew it was him by the way he walked. I'm sure he noticed me too, but he probably didn't think it would be me… not until we got closer and closer… and I finally saw his face for the first time in forever.

"Cass? Is that you?" he asked, playfully squinting his eyes at me. "Where the fuck've you been hiding?"

"Hey Chambers," I said, ruffling his short blond hair. "Been a while huh?" I decided to forget the ruffling and slung my arm around his neck, pulling him in for a hug. I felt so elated to see him, to see that he was OK, and to see that he didn't despise me as I imagined he would've by now. "Is there any place we can go to talk? If Eyeball comes back, I don't want him seeing…" I stopped short when Chris rolled his eyes to the side and his grin rapidly faded. "That was lame… sorry."

"Why do you let those guys tell you what to do? You never used to."

"I know but… things are complicated now."

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you. But sure, I gotta place we can talk."

He led me through a couple of backstreets and alleyways to an eventual dirt road which we strolled up with my arm slung over his shoulder. The dirt road led onto an empty lot, just as he'd described, and there it was – the tree house, nestled in a huge old elm tree, in all its grandeur.

"Holy fuck Chris, that's awesome!"

"You think so? We built it ourselves," he said beaming proud and eagerly leading me closer towards it.

The sides were planks, which they'd apparently scavenged from a scrapheap behind some building supplies place, and the roof was corrugated tin flogged from Milo's junkyard when he and his dog Chopper had been nowhere in sight. But they'd made it a good height, and it was even complete with a well-made ladder leading up to a trap-door in the center.

Chris climbed first, with me tagging on his heels, and I poked my head up through the hole in the floor and eagerly gazed around. "Wow Chris," I chuckled, nodding towards the centerfolds pinned to the walls. "This is where you come to do your '_study'_?"

"I've lost count of the amount of times those things've been ripped off the wall every time we catch word somebody's father's comin' over," he laughed.

I made the rest of the climb and parked myself on one of the small couches, while Chris pulled over a table made of two beer crates nailed together in a T shape. He then opened a small hidden compartment and pulled out a box of Winston's, taking one before offering me the packet.

"Chris… what are you doing? You're supposed to be my role model!" I joked. "Besides, you know I don't smoke."

"Oh yeah. Haven't seen you in so long I forgot," he poked at me.

"I'm sorry about that. Things have been pretty nuts lately."

"So," he said, lighting his cigarette. "Ace Merrill huh? What did I tell ya?"

Chris never fails to ground me, and I felt my cheeks flush bright red when I thought about everything I'd done with Ace since I saw him last. But I still didn't have any regrets. The way I saw it, what happened was unfortunate and I wished things had worked out differently – I wished I was still with him. "How long was it before you found out? How long since I saw you that last time?"

"What do you mean? With that scarf tied around your neck the way it was, I knew that day. Fuck, no wonder you wore it too," he said, nodding at my neck. "That asshole's marked you like you're a piece of property."

"I know," I sighed. "But anyway, that's all over now 'cos… we broke up."

"Oh," I could see him reserving a quiet grin. It tried to leak out a couple of times, but he managed to keep it contained to stay respectful of my feelings. "Was that cos of Keith?"

"Yeah…"

"He told me what happened, says he's pretty sorry about it, but I dunno. Keith's pretty set on you Cass."

"Is Keith a good guy? Cos, from what Eyeball's told me, he's a bit slippery…"

"Sure, Keith's a good guy," he shrugged. "He's been more of a brother to me than Eyeball ever has, that's for sure. But…"

"But what?"

"He's up to somethin'. I dunno what it is, but…" He stared down at the table in deep thought before shrugging it off. "Nah, I shouldn't have said anything…"

_Yeah, I know exactly what he's up to…_ I felt like saying.

"It's too soon to jump into anything new just yet anyway," I said, backing around the topic. "Although, after what Ace did to me, I don't know why I'm being so considerate."

"Why? What'd he do to you?" he mumbled with his cigarette hanging loosely between his lips as he reached to a small shelf for a pack of cards.

"Slept with his ex," I said in a faint voice, almost a whisper. It still didn't seem real that it'd happened and to say it out loud felt like an outright lie.

"He what?" he asked in shock, the cigarette almost falling out of his mouth. "That piece of shit! See? What did I tell you? I told you he'd be trouble, didn't I?"

"Yeah, he's done a lot of good for me too though…"

"So, you're fuckin' defending him now? Jesus Cass, what happened to you? You used to stand up to that bastard and you never gave a shit _what_ he thought. Now you let him push you around, let him tell you who you can and can't see, he sleeps around on you, and all you can say is that he's done _good_ for you?"

"That's a good question... I don't know what happened to me," I said quietly, staring in thought out through the wide open side of the tree house that looked out over the town. "He made me feel… special. And I guess I felt like I'd do anything to be with him."

Chris sat back and blew out a deep sigh, running his fingers back through his short blond hair as if that would help clear his head of all the crap that I'd just filled it with. "Just promise me something OK?" he said adamantly, leaning forward again.

"OK…"

"Get the old Cass back."

"I'll try..."

"That's not a promise."

"OK, I promise."

"Pinky swear," he said with a small smile, holding out his little finger to me.

I thought it was so adorable that I chuckled before twisting my little finger around his. "Pinky swear."

Chris doesn't know how much that simple gesture lifted my mood that day. He'd been so serious about it and yet the simple innocence of it made light of the dark situation. Maybe things weren't so bad after all. I'd already worked out a way to stay in town, and so really, all I had to do was get Ace out of my head. That was easier said than done, but seeing Chris's grin of faith certainly helped make it seem possible.

"Where would I be without you Chris?" I smiled.

"Oh yeah, and by the way, I'm sorry your old lady died at the diner."

"Wow… I really haven't seen you in a long time have I?"

"But you've still got the house right?"

"Yeah," I said cautiously, already fearing for the direction this was heading in.

"So where are you working now?"

_Motherfucker_. I cursed myself, instantly hearing Ace voice in my head. _Now what the fuck are you gonna tell him?_

"I'm… in between jobs right now."

"Oh," he said curiously as a knock came from under the floor.

He shifted the table to the side and pulled the trapdoor open to reveal Gordie's slim face and dark hair. "Gordie… hi," I said a little daunted by the sudden company. It's not that I don't like him; it's not that at all. I just wanted my little meeting with Chris to be kept under wraps between him and me.

"Hi," he said shyly, sitting up on the other couch. "Teddy and Vern are on their way too."

"Who?" I said anxiously, suddenly feeling like a trapped rat. "No one can know I'm here…"

"Cass, what did you just promise me?"

"Get the old Cass back," I sighed, now realizing that keeping my 'pinky swear' was going to be harder than it sounded.

Another knock – in the exact same sequence as Gordie's – came from under the tree house at my feet. Chris shifted the table again and I pulled up the trapdoor. A mop of dark blond hair surfaced through the hole in the floor, and a pair of eyes stared in horror at me through thick rimmed glasses.

"Jesus," he said, disbelieving what he was seeing. "The enemy has infiltrated the building."

Chris and Gordie glanced at each other before erupting into laughter as the face in the floor peered up at them, clearly dismayed that they were finding this so funny. "Chris!" he stressed, as he rapidly climbed two more rungs. "Don't you _know_ who this is?"

"Yeah," Chris shrugged casually, taking another puff of his Winston. "It's Cass."

"This is Ace Merrill's girlfriend! You can't let her in here! What if she's here to spy on us? What if she goes back to them with top secret information about our location!"

Chris shook his head to me, permissively rolling his eyes, "Ignore him. Teddy's crazy."

"Teddy! Hurry up!" cried another voice from below. "Don't wanna stare at your _ass_ forever you know!"

"Vern…" Chris and Gordie chimed in unison.

Teddy – still clearly unhappy about this intruder invading his secret sanctuary – reluctantly finished climbing the ladder and sat on the old chair next to me, while a cute, chubby kid poked his head up through the floor. Vern didn't notice me as he plodded up the ladder. It wasn't until he plonked himself down on a beer crate in the corner that he laid eyes on me and suddenly lost his cheery grin.

"Who's… who's… that?" he stuttered quietly to Chris, nervously pointing a finger in my direction. "Chris, do you see her?"

"Of course I see her. That's Cass…" Chris started.

"That's Ace Merrill's girlfriend," pouted Teddy.

"Ace Merrill… as in Billy's friend?" Vern asked, becoming visibly nervous.

"Yeah. As in your brother Billy's friend," Teddy rolled his eyes mockingly at him.

"Oh shit…" Vern stressed, suddenly shifting the beer-crate table over and scrambling to pull up the floor.

"Vern, where are you going?" sighed Chris.

"Getting' outta here, what does it look like? I don't like this… sincerely…"

"That's exactly what I said!" Teddy reacted, throwing his hands in the air.

"Guys, you don't have anything to worry about," I sighed.

Vern's short, stout figure stopped and turned to me, bent double over the trapdoor, as his mind slowly worked its way through the process of deciding whether it was safe to trust me or not.

"Nothing to worry about?" exclaimed Teddy, throwing his hands in the air again. "How can you say that? That guy pulled a knife on Chris. He beat up Gordie, kicked him in the balls and broke his fingers. If those guys find this place they'll probably burn it down. Probably burn it down after locking us in it. Probably…"

"Teddy! Just shut up goddammit!" interrupted Chris.

"I would never let that happen," I said adamantly.

"Like you'd be able to stop 'em." Teddy stared hard at me, his eyes narrowing and his bottom lip pouting with animosity.

"I'm gonna go… I didn't want to cause any trouble. This is your place and if you guys don't want me here, then that's fair enough."

Vern had sat back down on his crate, his chubby face having darted in every direction as he'd tried to keep up with the commotion. Gordie seemed indifferent to me leaving, but Chris was not happy about the reaction of his friends towards me. It didn't bother me though; I knew that what they had said was true. It was a reminder of why I'd battled with the decision to go with Ace in the first place.

"Shit, sorry Cass…" Chris apologized after following me down the ladder.

"It's OK. I know what an ass Ace is to you guys, and they're absolutely right to stand up to them… and to stand up to me. Actually, I admire them for it."

"If only they knew you like I do," he said with a long face.

"Are you gonna be alright with them? I hope I haven't done any permanent damage…"

"Nah, I can talk 'em 'round."

"I should go," I said, giving him a small smile before starting to walk off.

"Wait… Slip me some skin," he said holding out his hand flat with his palm up.

"What?"

"Peace... Skin it."

I held out my hand the same as his, and he slipped his over mine before making me do the same. "Come here you," I said, slinging my arm around his neck and pulling him into me. "You keep me grounded Chris. And you're right, I should be telling Ace to go fuck himself like I used to. Especially when it comes to seeing you."

* * *

I went ahead and set up the deal between Carl and Keith, using Keith's money to make the purchase (because I couldn't afford a whole quarter kilo package on my own), but Carl had easily agreed to selling to me directly and I felt humbled by his support. And after cutting out the middle man (Ace)… Keith and I began making a shitload. Keith had already been doing OK, but I decided to be fair and split the $950 dollar profit, per quarter kilo package, 50/50 between us. That boosted his earnings up a small amount more and mine, a fucking stack.

Everything with that was rolling sweetly for a while; I'd go around there to deliver the packages to him, but I wouldn't stay just in case he tempted me. Not because I didn't want him, but because I didn't want to risk things turning sour when I relied on the deal so much. Well, that's the reason I was telling myself anyway… but deep down, I knew I still wasn't over Ace.

Every day for two weeks I reminded myself of my promise to Chris, and I tried my best to stay optimistic that I could rid myself of my feelings for Ace. But every day was a challenge. The thing that stuck in my mind was that what happened was my fault. Just as we were settling ourselves into a good space I let myself go get all indulgent in drugs, alcohol and Keith, and fuck everything up. And the guilt I felt for that, for ruining what we had, was suffocating. Sure, Ace had gone way over the top with his 'revenge' but I felt that because I was the one who triggered off the chain of events, I was the one mostly to blame.

I'd see Ace around town every now and then as I was going about my daily business. He'd either be alone or with Eyeball; I never saw him with a girl. Most of the time he wouldn't see me, and I'd just stand there from afar wishing that I could go up to him and make the last weeks magically disappear like they'd never happened. But on the couple of occasions where he did see me, he'd acknowledge me but with a look in his eye like he still hadn't really forgiven me for what I did. That made me reluctant to go up and speak to him. Would he ever forgive me? I didn't know, but I couldn't sit around speculating forever. I was beginning to drive myself crazy. And I thought it was high time to just get over it.

But while I still felt guilty and kept positive thoughts about him in my mind, 'getting over it' wasn't going to be easy. So instead, I tried to flush him out of me by focusing purely on the negatives. I'd tell myself that he was no good for me, force myself to believe that everything he'd done for me was because he'd been trying to control me, and I wouldn't allow myself to think about the way he made me feel. Although it worked for the most part, deep down, I knew it was all a lie… especially when he finally came knocking at my door.

"Cass, what the fuck do you think you're playing at?" Ace said, startling me from a quiet doze in the sun on my back porch. He spoke in a soft, calm voice, but with those words he was obviously pissed…

"Ace, nice to see you too," I said, staring up at him with a waking yawn.

"Went 'round to fix up the deal with Keith just now. But it turns out he's already got a new seller. It's you isn't it?"

"So what if it is?" I shrugged, standing from my sun chair and moving inside.

"You can't fuckin' do that Cass. You can't steal my contacts and fuckin' cut me out!"

"_I_ didn't cut you out! You cut yourself out. You said you didn't need it or want it anymore and you left it wide open for the taking. Besides, you _know_ I need the money, so how can you expect me to pass it up?"

He slowly paced closer and towered over me in an attempt to intimidate, staring down with his steel blue eyes so close that I couldn't help but become captivated in the wonders of his irises for a moment. "You think you're so fuckin' clever don't you?"

Temptation to go soft and give into him to avoid the confrontation came over me strongly. But Chris was right; I used to stand up to Ace. I'd stood up to him that time in the alleyway, in the diner, lots of times. But somewhere between then and now there had been a turning point, and I could even put my finger on exactly when that had been. On the hood of his car in Hutt. And now, there we were months later, with me feeling like I'd sold my soul to him. And as I looked up into those cunning eyes of his, I realized that he knew it. And it was time for me to buy it back.

"I'm just doing what I need to do to get by," I said, staring determinedly up into his eyes. "And besides… this is working out great. Because I don't need _you_ anymore."

"Oh yeah?" he said in a low husk, his menacing expression relaxing into a sly smile. "But you still _want_ me."

"Do I now?"

"Of course you do, look at you. You're just busting for it right now aren't you?"

"I wouldn't be so sure… knowing you've been sleeping with some other chick isn't exactly a turn on." I said those words with such conviction that his eyes physically flinched. He swallowed hard and I reveled as I saw a hit of guilt. He wanted me more than he was letting on, but he wanted _me_ to cave in, just as I always did. But I wasn't about to let that happen.

"It was only the once and I haven't seen her since."

_Keep going you asshole…_

"That doesn't make it right. And if you're not sorry for doing it, then we're done. You don't know how much that hurt me."

"You did it to me first. I trusted you Cass, and then you go get with some other guy? What a fuckin' stab in the back!"

"Oh yeah? And then you come along with a fuckin' meat cleaver to the heart!"

"I was just so fucking pissed off, and I just wanted to say the biggest 'fuck you' I could in the best way I knew how."

"Well, you succeeded there. And I already told you, I'm sorry." I looked into his eyes and sighed, taking my hot-headedness down a tone. "If it's any consolation, there's still nothing going on between Keith and I. Nothing else has happened since." He gave me a staunch kinda nod, and I was glad that he seemed to believe me. "There's nothing I can do to change what happened that night and there's not one day I haven't regretted it. But if you don't feel the same way for your part, then… that tells me you don't care about me and I just can't live with that."

Then he touched the underside of my chin and his thumb wiped the tear under my eye. "I care about you. If I didn't, then why would I keep telling you you're a pig-headed bitch?" he said with a lighthearted grin. "Because you are… you're too stubborn to see that I care about you."

"That is neither charming, nor an apology," I said looking away. I couldn't help release a laugh at the truthfulness of his words, but at the same time I tried to stay strong and not give him an inch.

He was still seemingly reluctant to say it, but only for the sake of his pride. But he quickly realized he'd have to take a hit on that because I wasn't going to budge. If he hadn't been able to swallow his pride that day, if he'd turned his back and left, then I wouldn't have tried to stop him. What hope did I have of surviving a relationship with him if he could never tell me he was wrong and I'd always say that was OK? I needed to show strength or he'd walk all over me as he had been, for the rest of our time together.

"So what's it gonna be?"

"OK," he said cupping my face in hands. "I'm sorry OK? There, I said it."

"Sorry for what?"

"Don't push your luck."

"Oh I'm pushin' it. Either you do it or take a walk. I'm not fucking kidding."

He bit his lip and took a breath as he took another hard swallow. There goes the pride… down the hatch. "For using some other chick to get to you. It was a dirty move and it won't happen again."

"You promise?"

"Sure." And after an encouraging hand gesture from me I got the "I promise" out of him too.

"OK, well there's a few other things we need to get straight. I'm keeping this deal, but I realize that me going around to Keith's place to make the deliveries wouldn't work."

"Fuckin' got that right."

"And in that case, my place is out too. So… would there be a problem if I got him to pick it up from your place?"

"You involve my place and I get a cut."

"OK… so, how about 10%?"

"Fuck off… 50%."

"50! For what? I'm the one who has to fuckin' drive an hour there, hour back to pick it up…"

"In my car! And you'll be wantin' to leave it at my place."

"Fine. We go thirds in the profits – you, me and Keith. How's that?"

"Sounds fair," he said rather grudgingly. "So what else you gotta say, Miss Bossy Pants?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned so close to him as if about to kiss him. "I'm not letting her have you again," I whispered. "You're all mine, you understand?"

"That bitch is no more than a convenient piece of ass to me Cass."

"OK, that's a real asshole thing to say, but… good."

He slid his hand down the back of my thigh scooped my knee up to his side, and then reached down to scoop up the other leg, pulling me up onto his hips. I looked down at him from the slight height I had over him as he walked me through the lounge and towards the bedroom. I planned to keep my slightly dominant attitude going for a little while longer.

After being dumped down on the bed with a bounce I bit my lip and watched in awe as he whipped his shirt off from over his head and lashed his belt out from his jeans. Even though seeing him shirtless was nothing new to me, after two weeks of not having him, it felt like the first time. As he crawled over top of me like a sly fox about to devour his prey, I pressed a hand on his shoulder hinting for him to lie on his back.

"I'm calling the shots tonight," I said, straddling him and pulling my shirt over my head to reveal a new pink and grey lace push-up bra.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked, his tongue licking across his bottom lip.

"Well, that's the great thing about having money." With the extra I'd earned I borrowed Keith's car and spent a day splurging in Portland. It'd been a long time since I'd done any decent amount of shopping and I ended up coming home with everything I would wear and plenty more which I thought I'd never wear. But even though I've never dressed overly girly, I can't get enough of lacey lingerie.

I stood up on the bed, towering over him, and his eyes surveyed my every move as I unbuttoned my shorts and dropped them to reveal the matching pink and grey lace panties. After kicking them aside, I knelt over him again and lay on his chest to begin tucking into his neck. I couldn't help the small sobs of ecstasy as I nestled into him, wrapping my lips around his jugular and drawing out as much suction as I could. What a fuckin' turn on… no wonder he does it to me so much.

"I know what you're doing," he whispered close to my ear, but he didn't try to stop me. In fact he ran his large, warm hands from my ass all the way up my back and wrapped his arms around me tighter, pulling me into him so hard I struggled to breathe.

"Too right. You do it to me and so I'm gonna do it to you," I whispered back.

"Oh yeah? So, what else are you gonna do to me?" he asked slyly, as I sat up and reached under myself to unbuckle and unzip him.

"Well, you know… if you leave me high and dry for two weeks, you'll pay the price in the end."


	18. Chapter 17: Money Talks

**Money Talks**

* * *

Money talks, bullshit walks – boy is that true. Who would've ever thought of me as a cocaine dealer? I mean, all I did was drive out across the beautiful countryside, make the pickup and drive back. But in actual fact, that's what I was. I could argue the point that I only did it because I _needed_ the money – I remember arguing that point a lot actually. But in all truth, there's a huge difference between _needing_ something and _wanting_ something. I _needed_ roughly around $100 per week to live comfortably, but I was getting an extra $500 above that on the weeks when Keith bought two lots of .25 kilo of the shit… and that was definitely a _want_. A nice little pile of notes were beginning to build up in a shoebox at the bottom of my wardrobe, and I couldn't help loving the feeling that I could spend all I wanted and still have stacks left over. In fact, I could even feel an addiction building where I worried about things turning to shit and no longer having enough to swim in.

Ace and I had been back together for nearly two weeks and things were slowly repairing themselves after the difficult few weeks we'd had. I hadn't given up control of the deal, and I kinda rubbed the fact that I had it in Ace's face a little at times too. Keith was fine with travelling out to Ace's place to make the pickups, even though there was still a little animosity between the two of them. But now that I was free on the nights that I'd usually make the deliveries, Ace would still go out… and I was becoming increasingly interested in what he was up to. And with the amount of time we were spending together, it was a sure thing that he wouldn't be able to keep this from me forever.

* * *

One hot Friday night in mid-August Ace turned up at my place unusually early and, after a round of going wild on my breakfast bar, he pulled me out of the house and down to the local pool hall.

He parked the '49 in the parking strip out the front and I climbed out of the car feeling rather excited to simply hang out with him for the night and get rottenly drunk after two weeks of loathing. But as I waited for Ace on the sidewalk my excited and carefree grin faded as a familiar face suddenly strolled around the corner.

"Hey Cass," Chris grinned when he saw me. "Where you been? Went round to see you a couple of times."

"I haven't been home," I said uneasily, my entire body turning stiff with anxiety as I anticipated his worst enemy walking straight up behind me.

During those rough two weeks I hadn't had a blink of an opportunity to spit out to Ace that I wanted to start spending time with Chris again… whether he agreed with it or not. I wanted to be on solid terms with him when I did this because I didn't want to put Chris at any kind of risk. And because I hadn't seen Chris since the day at the tree house, I had yet to tell _him_ that Ace and I were back together…

Chris's smile rapidly faded as he noticed Ace step out from the line of cars on the parking strip, and Ace's grin grew as he noticed Chris's smile fade.

"You ain't goin' after my girl now, are you kid?" Ace teased as he possessively slapped my ass.

"Ace, don't be ridiculous," I said, not caring what he thought about me standing up for Chris. Even though there had been times where I'd been selfish enough to put a relationship with Ace over a friendship with Chris, when it came down it, I'd still take Chris's side in any confrontation.

"Better not be." He stepped behind me to slide his hands underneath my thin singlet, and raked his fingers over the skin of my belly. "Because I wouldn't wanna have to have words with you for gettin' too close."

"You're pathetic, you know that?" Chris told him firmly.

"Ooh…" Ace said, sliding his hands out from around me and stepping out to face Chris. "Better teach your friend some manners Cass… or _I_ might have to."

"Let's just go inside," I said, growing increasingly worried for Chris's safety. I looped my arm through Ace's and tried to pull him away, but he stood fast.

"You've always had a smart mouth kid," Ace said, slipping the cigarette out from behind his ear, a match from his pocket, and lighting it. "When are you ever gonna fucking learn?"

"Fuck you, asshole," Chris said, making me gasp in surprise.

"Chris… don't _provoke_ him…" I said in an anxious whisper, as if Ace wasn't standing right next to us with open ears.

"You better take that back," Ace scowled, pointing straight at him with a stiffened finger, "or I'm gonna make you kiss the pavement."

"Come on you two, cut the bullshit," I said stepping in as I became increasingly worried for Chris's safety. "Ace, you're comin' inside with me. Chris, you're on your way."

Ace casually flicked the cigarette onto the sidewalk and took one dominating step forward towards Chis. But I stepped in front of him and, chest to chest, tried to force him backwards. "Come on Ace, just drop it. You're gonna kill the night for me, you really are."

He gazed down at me with a mocking grin as if amused by my determination to obstruct him. "You don't wanna get in my way Cass…"

As a last resort, I gave him a quick persuasive kiss to try to snap him out of it. "Come on Ace, let's go," I said, almost in a plead. Chris probably would've been highly offended by the act, but at least it worked.

"Fine," he said, his harsh glare aimed at Chris. "But don't think I won't forget this Chambers."

Ace slung his arm around my neck and swiftly led me towards to door to Irby's and I turned back to see Chris standing alone on the sidewalk, his face contorted with a disappointed scowl. His scowl wasn't for Ace either… because, with a nice and clear form, he mouthed "stupid" straight at me.

I barely noticed the large crowd gathered in Irby's for a Friday night piss up, barely noticed Ace lead me through the haze towards the rear of the pool hall, and barely noticed Charlie and Eyeball who were arguing over their game of pool. The vision of Chris's face hung over me like a thick blanket, clouding my view of the rest of the world around me. I had let him down… again. Feeling the guilt pour over me, I slipped out from under Ace's arm and ignored his calls as I tore back outside to where Chris stood… but he was gone.

"What's up with you?" asked Eyeball as I slogged my way back to them.

"Nothing," I whispered with my head hung low.

"Why are you always stickin' up for that little fagot Cass?" Ace asked, with me barely hearing him.

"Because he's my friend Ace and that's what friends do."

Ace and Eyeball glanced at each other and exchanged mocking laughs, but I was too disappointed with myself to care.

"Ace I've gotta tell you something," I said, finding a pocket of willpower hidden under my blanket. "I'm gonna start spending time with Chris again. Whether you like it or not."

Both Ace and Eyeball's grins were wiped clean, while the other guys stood both surprised and confused, not really knowing what to think.

"Come here," Ace said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me all the way out through the back door of Irby's. "What are you doing?"

"Like I said… I wanna see Chris. I need to see him. And I'm not asking you, in fact, I don't give a shit what you say."

"What is it with you and that little dipshit? He's a fuckin' kid Cass… and besides, I already told you why that's a bad idea."

"Exactly… he's just a kid. And he's gotta deal with all these assholes, including you, who treat him like he's fuckin' worthless. But he's not. He's smart, intelligent, wise, a fucking good friend, and he stands up for himself and I admire that. But every now and then he just needs a little bit of support and a bit of a helping hand to get through things and, apart from Keith, I'm the only one who gives a shit."

"So what the fuck are you gonna tell him? Like you say, he's not stupid. What are you gonna do when he asks where you're gettin' your money from?"

"I'll just tell him that I'm working in some other town…"

"That's not gonna stick and you know it."

"I'll think of something. And anyway… it's not like I'm relying on you anymore, so you can't tell me what to do. If you don't like this… you can kiss my ass."

"You know what?" he said, his anxious stare softening. "You're right. It's your deal now after all. So if you fuck up... it's your ass, not mine."

He irately pulled Irby's back door open and disappeared inside, leaving me standing alone and confused in the dusty back doorway. Ace was right, I now held the responsibility on this. And now that the weight was on my shoulders I began to think differently. Maybe seeing Chris and risking it wasn't such a good idea after all… but then again… I could trust Chris. Couldn't I?"

* * *

"Who's buyin' the beers?" asked Ace, slipping into the booth after me, when I'd finally perked myself back up a bit and decided to come inside.

It was clear that the smart thing to do would be to think things through and come up with a better plan than telling Chris outright what I was up to. And so, with the blanket of sorrow now partially lifted, I wanted to detach it completely by getting absolutely fucking wasted.

"Billy's shout," grinned Eyeball.

"Nah, fuck you, I just bought the last round!" moaned Billy.

"And now you're buying the next one!" jeered Eyeball.

"Come on Billy! Quit holdin' out on us!" Ace joined in, slinging his arm around my neck again and relaxing back into the booth.

"I always buy the fucking beers," Billy grumbled as he reluctantly made his way towards the bar.

"When do you ever buy?" I spoke out at Ace's close ear before whispering, "It's not like you can't afford it."

Seemingly in a good mood now that the beer was on its way, Ace smugly grinned at me. "I do the parties," he shrugged. "Besides, Billy's got a job – he can afford a round every now and then."

"More like every round," I said, rolling my eyes with a cheeky laugh.

"You stickin' up for him now too? Think I might have to teach _you_ a lesson," he said, alluring me with his charming grin and slowly forcing me backwards, down onto the seat of the booth.

"You are _not_ doing me here," I chuckled as the room disappeared, leaving only Ace's face hovering close above me… well… and Jack and Fuzzy's legs from the other side of the table.

"I don't think you're gonna care where we are in a minute," he said, pressing his chest harder against me as he slipped his tongue between my lips.

I wasn't going to let him go _that_ far… (and anyway, things were far too tight and squishy) but I was too turned on to push him off in a hurry, so I let him kiss me for a while and even slip a hand under my bra, but once he reached for his belt…

"Beer's here," called Billy, sliding a few across the table with one arriving right next to Ace's head.

"Looks like we'll have to wrap this up later," he said, pushing off me to sit up before popping the top off both our beers.

I awkwardly sat up, blushing a little as I ran my fingers back through my long hair and composed myself, before taking the beer and consuming a few large self-conscious gulps.

"So where's Vince?" asked Ace.

"Getting laid," said Charlie. "You seen that new broad at the Diner?"

"Oh yeah, I've seen her. Not a bad piece of…" there was no doubt that Ace's next word would've been 'ass', but the quick jab in the ribs from me made him cut his sentence short.

"It's OK Cass…" he said, slinging his arm around my neck again. "Everyone knows you're the best piece of ass around." I gave him another quick jab, although a little too late this time to break off his sentence.

"Who's next on the table?" asked Eyeball, taking the end seat next to Billy on the opposite side of the booth.

"Come on Cass, you play?" Ace asked, sliding out and pulling me along with him by the wrist.

"Not for a long time," I said, seeing a crafty little opportunity to get one back for Chris.

Little did Ace know at the time, I didn't just play pool, I used to hustle it. It'd been over a year since my last game though and so I presumed I'd be a little rusty, but I was fairly sure I could get it back quick enough.

During the difficult times back at home, I'd slip out most nights to find any place that had fun, alcohol and guys – and that was usually a bar or a pool hall. I don't want to write down how I got into those places at only 17… but at the time, doing anything to get away from the depressing situation with my mother seemed worth it. There was never a shortage of newbies in town to send home a few dollars poorer at these places, and the locals who knew me well, never wore tired of seeing me work towards earning those few dollars.

I understood that I'd need a few rounds to get my gift back, and also I needed to see if Ace was any good. The better he was, the longer I'd hold off before turning around and whipping his ass. That was the plan anyway… until Vince showed up.

"Rack 'em up then," Ace said, grabbing a cue and peering down its length, inspecting it for flaws.

At that exact moment, Irby's front door swung open and Vince came strutting in with his usual smug attitude and big ego. "Teaching the chick how to play?" he asked Ace cockily, rudely brushing past me as I leant over the table, racking up the balls.

Needless to say, Vince and I still didn't get along. He resented my big mouth and I resented his egotistical cockiness. Anything to piss off him was a good plan in my eyes, and I'd just had one big motivational wave to drop the idea about kicking Ace's ass and move onto a new mark. Good thing I did too, because I quickly learnt that Ace is a crack-shot at pool and so my original plan probably wouldn't have come off too well.

"Lay off her Vince. Everyone's gotta learn sometime," Ace said equally as cockily, as he made the first break.

Vince sniggered and strolled up to the bar to buy himself a beer as I chalked up my cue, extremely eager to wipe the smug grins off both of their faces.

Ace's form was one of the smoothest I'd seen, making me keen to get this over with so we could trade professional tips. After clearing half the table he deliberately turned the game over to me so I could 'get at least one shot in'. The cue felt rather foreign in my hands as I held it for the first time in months. It was kinda like riding a bike again when you hadn't ridden in ages. You never forget how, but it takes some time to get used to the feel of it again. My first shot was wobbly and I missed the pocket… but on purpose of course. Although it would take a while to get the cue feeling slick in my hands again, I could still read the table and tactically plan the game as well as if I'd played only yesterday. And I think that's when Ace's suspicions began to grow, because with every good shot he lined up, I'd mischievously block it or fuck it up for him in some way or another, forcing him to go for something different. I'd do anything except sink too many balls, and every time Vince glanced over from the booth beside us I'd be sure to miss.

After two games against Ace I asked for a solo round because I wasn't getting anywhere near enough shots in – and therefore practice – with him sinking nearly everything. Again, during this time, I'd sink one every now and then but mostly practice shooting the balls to precise locations on the table, lining up potential shots; that type of thing.

"Alright O'Connor," Vince said, irritably standing after having enough of watching my 'shitty' shots from the booth. "That's enough fucking around, we wanna play."

"Knock yourself out," I said slyly, handing him my cue. Now that the feel of it was coming back it was time to see what I'd be up against.

Vince and Billy took to the table next and I bought a round of beers before sliding into the booth next to Ace. I kept one ear on the conversation and two eyes on the game as I took vital notes on Vince's style of play. He was good, but he was cocky too… not that I would've expected anything else from him. If there was a choice of going for an easy or a difficult shot, he'd pick the difficult shot every time. Half the time he'd manage to pull it off, the other half he'd fail at it, but at least he knew how to build up a game that was interesting to watch.

He won the two games against Billy, which led him to come out of it $10 richer, and I felt like I'd seen enough. It was time to get this over with so I could relax back and get hammered.

"So. Who's next in line to lose?" Vince asked, standing over the pool table chalking up his cue again.

"I'll play you," I spoke up. "I obviously need the practice."

"What? Geez, I want some kinda challenge… Besides, I don't play for fun. You wanna play me you're puttin' cash on the table."

"Alright… how much?" I pulled a $10 bill out of my pocket and held it up between two fingers. "$10 enough?"

Vince glanced over at Ace as if asking for his permission and Ace, frowning suspiciously, gave a slight nod. Vince then took a step closer to me and lent down near my ear to whisper, "We both know you can afford more than that, so how about we up the ante? $10, plus loser buys the nights drinks… for everyone."

"Ha. Good thing I'm thirsty," I slyly whispered back.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of that, but shook on it anyway. Excellent…

He lent down to break but I grabbed the end of his cue to stop him. "Hang on a sec, where's your ten?"

"What for? It's not like I'm gonna need it. You may as well just hand yours over to me now."

"Fair's fair," said Ace, rising from the booth and stepping in. "Let's see it."

"Fine," said Vince, reaching into his pocket to pull out the two fivers he'd won off Billy, before handing them over to Ace.

"That's more like it," I said, eyeing him down. "Besides, it's my break. And I'm gonna clean the table."

"Fuck, what are you on girl? You're delirious or something," he laughed.

On picking up the cue again after a two game breather, it seemed to naturally slot into place as it had in the past. My confidence was at its peak for the night and I hoped beyond all hopes that I could pull this off. My break shot was hard, scattering the balls in all directions and I paced casually as I watched two solids sink into the side pockets on opposite sides of the table.

"Nice break," said Ace, standing beside me with suspicious eyes.

Vince's brow lowered and a concerned look swathed over his face as I continued pacing around slowly, casually popping off shots here and there and sinking every single one of them. I planned to play the table in a way that allowed me to avoid anything overly difficult, because my form still didn't feel perfect. But I wasn't doing too badly considering how long it had been since I'd last played.

Ace silently leant back on the stool he'd pulled over from the bar, grinning with interest, while the other guys gathered around, rowdily cheering on the game like it was the most exciting thing they'd seen in weeks.

But half way though, I could see a problem ahead and I didn't know how I was going to solve it without going for at least one very difficult shot. The only way to pocket the 3 around Vince's balls, which were still scattered everywhere, was to bounce it hard off the rail to send it rolling back into the corner pocket on the opposite side of the table.

"You're gonna have to do it," Ace agreed as he read my thoughts exactly.

"Dam…" I said with a nervous laugh, not confident at all about this one. It would've been hard enough to get it when I was on form let alone in my rusty state.

I ignored Vince's smart-ass jeers and comments as I leant down to position my cue for the shot. Hoots and hollers came from the rest of the guys as I went for it at full strength. The white hit the 3 and it bounced off the rail in the exact place I intended before rolling smoothly across the table. Everyone anxiously watched, hovering on tip-toes, as it rolled towards the pocket…

"Fuck!" I shouted out to the room, mortified when the ball hit the corner of the pocket and bounced off.

"Clean the table huh?" Vince jeered at me as he strutted over for his first shot of the game.

"Don't worry about it," comments and slaps on my back came from the guys, as if they actually wanted me to beat their friend.

"Well, you'd better not fuck up, 'cos I won't again," I warned him.

"I ain't gonna fuck up. And by the way guys, loser's buying the drinks. So Cassie you may as well head to the bar to buy us all a round."

"You ain't won yet," I said, forcing Ace to share half of his bar stool.

He made some good progress with pocketing four of his stripes… and then a similar shot to the one I'd failed on clearly presented itself on the table.

"Hey look Vince," I hinted, well aware that he wouldn't be able to resist the chance to outdo me. "Look at your 10."

"You lookin' for a little lesson?" he said smarmily.

"I love one please," I said with a cheesy grin.

"She's tryin' to play ya Vince," Ace smirked, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Who's side are you on?" I laughed, giving him another poke in the ribs.

"Lemme show you how it's done then," Vince said, ignoring the advice that was flooding in from the other guys as he leaned down to take the shot.

As his face sunk into serious concentration mode, my heart raced and my sweaty fingers gripped tighter around my cue. He was so determined to sink this one that I worried he might actually pull it off… and if that happened he'd gloat about it for eons and eons and I'd never live it down. Everyone stood on tip-toes again as Vince powerfully took the shot. His 10 bounced off the precise position on the table and we all held our breath as it rolled towards the corner pocket… and then bounced off the corner of the pocket, almost the same way as mine had.

"Shit man! Shit!" Vince roared furiously, thumping his fists down so hard on the table that it made our remaining balls roll.

"Vince is gonna lose to a fuckin' chick," Eyeball snickered before being cuffed over the back of the head by Vince.

My final three solids were easy now that most of Vince's balls had been cleared, and I finished the game by rolling the black eight past Vince's failed 10 into the corner pocket. I didn't rub it in though. In fact I didn't say a word to Vince. I just ambled over to Ace who handed me my money with a commending grin and a slap on the ass.

"Drinks are on Vince boys… and fuck am I thirsty," I said, sliding the money into my jeans pocket as I strolled by Vince, making sure to rudely brush past him.

* * *

Boy, did we get pissed that night... so pissed that I couldn't remember much of it the next morning. I think I may have won a few dollars more from playing other people in the bar and I have vague memories of vomiting in the bathroom. But I remember every detail of what happened after we left Irby's like it was only yesterday, because it was probably the most sobering wakeup call I've ever had in my life.

Ace and I stumbled out of Irby's at closing time, 2am, with me bent double and clinging to his waist. He helped me into the car, clunking the door closed after me and I weakly protested as he strolled around to the driver's door.

"You're too pissed to drive," I slurred.

"I'm fine," he said, taking his seat behind the wheel. "You're the one who was puking in the shithouse."

"Shut up you," I yawned before laying myself down across the bench seat with my head comfortably rested in his warm lap.

The rumble of the V8 vibrated throughout my body as we drove through the streets, rocking me straight off to sleep. Then moments later… well… what felt like only moments later, I awoke. My cheek stuck to the leather seat slightly as I pushed my sleepy head up off it, curious about where I was. I was still in the '49, but it was parked up, and Ace was nowhere to be seen. Although I was a bit hung-over and still slightly drunk, my thinking was quite clear and so I figured I'd been lying there for a while.

All I could hear were nighttime sounds of crickets and the soft wind blowing through tall trees, and so at first, I thought we'd be at his place. But as I propped myself up to sit, I saw that we were parked a few feet away from a large trailer home which had a huge corrugated iron shed built onto the back of it.

I forced the car door open before sleepily staggering out, racking my brain to figure out where I was. The moon sat high that night and lit up my surroundings as I curiously gazed around in all directions. Apart from the trailer home, I could see the lights of one house which sat up on a hill above me, but no other dwellings could be seen in the vast area of land. A long dirt driveway wound around, down from the house and past the trailer, before disappearing down another hill out towards the main road. We were in the countryside; that I was sure of.

A dim light glowed from within the trailer home and I was fairly sure Ace would be in there. So I made my way down the narrow dirt path that led towards the front door, passing a couple of old cars rusting away in the long grass.

The front door was wide open and so I poked my head in, called Ace's name and gazed around. To my right was the kitchen which was clean, but the shelves and the top of the refrigerator were cluttered with rows of empty alcohol bottles of every brand you could think of. To my left, in the same long room, was the lounge area which had two two-seater sofas facing a small television placed in the corner. The walls of the place were covered in posters of hot rods, muscle cars and motorbikes and most had women in various states of undress pouring over them.

Ace hadn't seemed to hear me call and so I decided to follow the soft sound of a radio that was coming in through another open door straight opposite me. It wasn't typical of me to go wandering uninvited through someone else's house, but I was sure Ace would be in there and welcome me in with open arms. Through the open door stood the toilet to my right, and opposite that to my left was another open door with the sound of the radio coming through quite loudly. I poked my head through the doorway of what appeared to be the huge corrugated iron shed I'd seen from outside, and discovered what I could only describe as a fully kitted out car workshop.

Three cars were lined side by side. Two of them were facing outwards towards two sets of these huge double garage doors, and one car – the one closest to me – was facing inwards with its engine hanging from a hoist above it. It looked like your typical mechanics shop lined with work benches covered in all sorts of tools, and was complete with equipment like air compressors, welders, blow torches – that type of thing.

Ace and another guy, who I recognized as Markus from the party at my place that time, were far down the end of the garage, peering under the hood of the furthest car, discussing something. I just stood and watched them for a while and then noticed something odd… there were no license plates on the cars.

Just as I decided to back out and pretend I was never there, Markus glanced up and his eyes went wide in shock as he saw me. "What the fuck Ace? What are you doing in here?" he yelled at me across the room.

Ace instantly spun around and saw me too and I could tell he was not happy. "Shit. Cass!" he yelled, furiously striding towards me. "Get back out to the car!"

So much for my welcome with open arms… instead, he grabbed me by the arm and hauled me through the trailer and outside to the '49.

"What the hell are you guys up to?" I asked anxiously.

"Couldn't you've just stayed the fuck asleep? I was only gonna be another five minutes!"

"How long did you think you could leave me lying there for?"

"Usually when you pass out you're out 'til morning. You never wake up… not even while I'm hauling your ass back into the house." He was right; I usually am a fairly heavy sleeper.

"So are you gonna tell me what's going on?"

"You always think you're so clever – you figure it out."

"Those cars are hot aren't they?" I whispered, realizing the sensitivity of it if I was right.

Pacing with his hands on his hips, he irately shook his head as he tried to decide the best way to deal with me. He suddenly stopped pacing, closed his eyes and tilted his head back, up towards the sky as if the answer to his problems would drop out of it. For him to be worried like that… I knew this was something big.

"I can't fuckin' believe this," he said, grabbing me by the arm again and dragging me back inside the trailer.

With one hand on my shoulder, he lent close to me and pointed a finger in my face, his eyes burning his words into my mind. "The only ones that know about this are Vince and Eyeball. But I don't wanna hear you've mentioned a word of this shit to anyone, you got it?"

"Of course I won't! What do you think I am?"

At that moment, Markus came strolling in through the doorway from the garage, equally as irritated as Ace, his wide blue eyes staring me down as he entered his kitchen. "So she knows then?"

"She figured it out."

"Fuck," he said softly, shaking his head with a sarcastic smirk. "Well this is just fuckin' great."

"Aren't you guys worried about getting caught?"

"Haven't come close to being caught yet, and if everyone does what they're told – including you – it'll stay that way," Ace said.

"It fuckin' better," Markus powerfully spoke up. "Cos I've got a lot at stake here!"

"Markus, you've got nothin' to worry about – I know how to keep something under wraps, trust me."

"Too right you're gonna keep it under wraps," Ace piped up, "'cos you're gonna join us."

"What?" I asked, almost choking on the word. "What are you mad?"

"Yeah Ace, what are you mad?" Markus echoed.

"Hardly. You know what this chick got up to when she first moved to town?"

"Ace… don't you think enough people know already?" I said, fearing the secret was spreading too far.

"You know Markus's secret, so it's only right that he knows yours. You remember a few months back when all those stores were reporting that their shit was magically disappearing? That was her."

"I only did that because I had to," I protested. "I'm not a fucking thief."

"Oh yeah? What about when you helped me rip off the piss store? Alcohol's hardly a necessity Cass…"

"Only because you conned me into it!"

"And you've always got something to prove haven't you?"

"Jesus Ace, it sounds like you've been planning to bring her into this all along. When the fuck were you gonna tell me?" Markus fumed.

"When I was sure I wanted her in," Ace glared at me, his eyes suddenly turning deadly serious.

"What… you mean you _have_ been planning this all along?" I asked, so stunned that my brain froze in shock.

Ace irritably turned away from both of us and tensely ran his fingers back through his blond hair.

"I don't fuckin' believe this," Markus said as he stormed towards the door to outside. "You better know what the fuck you're doin' Ace. I'm goin' up to the house. Don't forget to turn off the lights," he said, slamming the door closed so hard that the bottles on the fridge rattled.

"Better start fucking talking," I said, almost ready to take my turn to slam the door and leave.

Ace slowly strode around the kitchen, thinking long and hard about how he'd explain himself as I stood fixed to the spot with my arms folded, impatiently waiting for answers.

"You weren't' supposed to know about this shit yet. Not for at least another couple of months. This is fuckin' risky business and you're not ready."

"What do you mean I'm not ready? Like I haven't had enough time in the oven or something?"

"Exactly. I can't just bring anyone into this; I need someone I can trust and rely on. I mean, sure – you did good at the liquor store that time, and you've proved yourself reliable enough on these cocaine runs…"

"What? You were fuckin' testing me?"

"Well, yeah," he shrugged. "How else am I supposed to know?"

"I can't believe this… the whole time?"

"So far you've proved you're reliable, but after you ripped that deal off me the way you did, I dunno if I can trust you."

"What else did you expect me to do? Leave town? Look, you can trust me Ace… I swear it. If all that bullshit hadn't happened and we hadn't broken up then I never wouldn't done it. You on the other hand, you've been fuckin' playing me all along. How am I supposed to trust another word that comes out of your mouth?"

"Cos I ain't got nothin' more to hide."

"Well, time will tell won't it?"

"It's not the reason _why_ you ripped the deal off me that's a worry. It's the fact that you were smart enough to think of it and had enough balls to go see Carl and make it happen."

"That almost sounded like a compliment…"

"It was." He stepped closer and, with his devious blue eyes staring seriously into mine, he slid a hand under my jaw to stroke my earlobe with his thumb. "You and me Cass, we'll make a good team if we can get past this."

The way he looked into my eyes at that moment made me both melt down and lift to an all-time high simultaneously. No one in my life had ever looked at me with such confidence and belief before, and coming from Ace, who's so hard to please, made the compliments all the more sweeter. Because, I knew there was no way he was just saying those things to charm me like he usually does to get himself off the hook. For this kind of risk, that'd just be stupid… and Ace had now proved he's definitely not stupid.

He'd been crafty in his plans to maneuver me into his scheme and now I could choose to either erupt over the deception or look past that, just as he had for me. Sure, he'd played me, but he'd played me really fucking well and I couldn't help but make light of it and admire him for it. Besides, you can't go out with a smoking hot bad-boy who makes the underside of your bellybutton tingle with the slightest touch and expect him to be a saint. And that's just the thing… I don't want a saint.

"I think we can get past this," I said with a trusting grin. "But this is some heavy shit and I don't know if I'm willing to take that kinda risk."

"Fifteen hundred bucks a car."

"Fifteen hundred bucks a car?" I gaped at him, stunned.

"See? Flash money in your face and you suddenly come around," he smirked. "Follow me."

He firmly took my hand and led me through into the huge garage again where the cars were lined for servicing. Just seeing them there and knowing they'd been ripped off made my belly turn to jelly, let alone the thought of going out and swiping one or many of them myself.

"So, here's how it works. We boost three cars a night – me, Vince and Eyeball – one each. Then we drive them here to what you call a 'die-out' garage. We do everything from changing license plates, serial and engine numbers, paint jobs, replacing locks, cleanin' 'em out, the lot – everything except the paper. The guys we're dealin' with take care of that. And you're right, this isn't breaking into a store for kicks. This is big time baby."

"This is crazy shit…"

"No, I'll tell you what's crazy. Working for some asshole who pays you squat. Markus and I used to work down at the local mechanics after we both dropped outta school a couple years ago. But, neither of us were happy with the pay we were gettin' and so we decided to team up on something worth the time. Fifteen hundred bucks a car, 3 cars a week. Split that four ways and you know what you are?" he said, stepping close, sliding his hands around my waist and firmly pulling it into him. "Stinking fuckin' rich."

"You sound like you've got it all covered, so what do you need me for?"

"Because three cars a week ain't scratching the surface of what these guys are askin' for. I wanna get it up to at least six, for now. If you can at least take my place out there, then I can help out Markus more with the work here."

"So you want me go out boosting cars? I don't know the first thing about it…"

"I'll teach you everything you need to know."

"I need time to think about this. Just being in the same room with these things makes me nervous."

"I gotta quick cure for that," he said, suddenly hoisting me up onto the boot of a light blue 56' Chevy Bel Air. "I don't think you're gonna care where we are in a minute."

"Ace, what are you doing?" I chuckled.

"Ever been fucked on a stolen car before?" he asked seductively.

"Ace! We can't do…" but he shut me up with a forceful pash and reached in front of me to undo my zipper.

"It's doin' it for you already isn't it?" he whispered, feeling me wrap my legs around him, pulling him in tight against the rear bumper.

"Maybe…" I played it down, but the wildness of the idea drove me crazy.

A nervous tingle lurked deep within my belly, but then as that bad boy pulled my jeans and panties around past my bum, a hot rush surged through me, flooding my entire body with adrenaline. Just the thought that this was so wrong… made it feel so fucking good.

"You're a bad influence on me," I feverishly whispered as Ace undid his belt and pulled my knees up at his sides, forcing me to lie back on the boot.

"And you love it…"

* * *

**So... after hints throughout, who saw it comin'? *wink***


	19. Chapter 18: Losing Touch

**Losing Touch**

* * *

A hot flush smothered my face as I looked over at Ace sleeping next to me in his bed the next morning. He was lying on his stomach, both his arms up over his pillow, with the sheet at waist level giving me a tantalizing view of his sexy strong back. As memories of the insane night before drifted through my mind, I could feel a burning desire for him building up within me, stronger than ever. Because it wasn't just the sight of his skin that was doing it for me now…

"You amaze me," I whispered.

To me, the fact that he was doing stuff that was way beyond any legal boundary was beside the point. I'd always admired him for being nobody's fool, always seeming to have the answers, and always having everything under control. But after that night, after learning what he was truly capable of, I found myself looking at him in a completely new light, and also, I realized I'd gained a new kind of respect for him. He was cunning, calculating, daring, intelligent, not to mention he had big dreams and enough drive and determination to pull them though. All that turned me on just as much, if not more, than running my fingers lightly down his spine... and past waist level.

On top of all that, I finally understood what he truly saw in _me,_ and those compliments he'd paid me boosted my self-confidence sky-high. Because unlike some guys who are such pushovers that they'll just tell you what you want to hear to keep you happy, Ace isn't a big one for words of praise. And so when he gives you a pat on the back, you know he means it.

But despite all of that, I still hadn't agreed to follow him into this new 'business' of his. Although the money was enticing, that's about all that was enticing. The thought of doing such things seemed too outrageous to even comprehend. And since I had that cocaine deal now firmly under my belt, I didn't need anything else. When I look at things now, there's no doubt in my mind that Ace would've wanted to retain control of that deal just so he could rip it out from under my feet, forcing me to join his greater cause. But, he fucked up big time when he let his anger get the better of him and went out to seek revenge on me. That's where he'd fallen short in his plan.

After hearing enough of my stomach whining at me to feed it, I forcibly peeled my eyes off Ace, rolled out of his bed and into the kitchen to cook a huge bacon, eggs and sausages breakfast for us both. And once the smell eventually woke him, he wandered out too.

"So. You given any more thought to last night?" he asked, coming up behind me and slipping his hands around my waist as I dished up.

"I've given it a lot of thought," I said seductively, leaning back into him. "But I'm gonna guess you're talking about the cars right?"

"I gotta go see Markus today and let him know what's goin' on. So you in?"

"I dunno… I think this is way over my head. Besides… didn't you say I wasn't ready yet?" I asked eager to find an excuse to weasel my way out of it.

"It's not like I'm gonna send you out there when you don't know what you're doing…"

"I know, but…" I said, racking my brain to find more excuses.

We took seats at his kitchen table and ate in silence for a while. I knew deep down that it wasn't just the consequences of being caught that was bugging me… it was my compassion. This wasn't nicking a bottle of whiskey. These were cars; thousands of dollars worth of someone else's stuff. And then there was Chris… If I did decide to do it, then this would just be another secret I'd have to keep from him, another worry on my mind that he might find out, and I knew that every time I looked at him I'd send myself on a massive guilt trip which would have me regretting getting myself involved. Both were very good reasons not to do it in my mind, but I doubted Ace would understand either of them.

"I dunno about this…" I finally said, finishing up my meal.

"OK… well, if you're too pussy, then I guess I'll just have to find someone else," he shrugged.

"Don't try that one on me again…"

"I'm serious. With or without you, this is gonna happen."

"You're not pissed at me are you?"

"Nope… 'cos you know what I think?" he said, rising from the table and reaching for his keys. "You'll come 'round eventually." He kissed me on the side of the head and strolled out to the front door.

"I'm going to see Chris today… I have to," I called behind him.

"Just don't fuck it up," he solidly reminded me, without turning back.

* * *

I hadn't asked, but I borrowed Ace's truck anyway – hell, if doesn't care about taking other people's stuff, why should I care about taking his? After parking it at my place I decided to go on foot across town and up to the tree house because I figured that'd be my best bet of finding Chris. I just hoped his buddies weren't there to slander me again…

The tree house stood so silent up in the big old elm that I was almost certain it'd be empty. And if that was the case, then I promised myself I'd sit and wait for as long as it took. Even if I'd waited all day and he didn't show, I would've come back the next day. Sure, I was dying to apologize to him for many things, but I was also excited that Ace was no longer kicking up a stink about me seeing him. And finally… finally, I could have both of them in my life. Or so I thought…

I climbed up the ladder to reach the small trapdoor and knocked.

"That's not the secret knock," came Chris's voice from above me.

"I don't know it… sorry," I called up, already feeling awkward.

After a shuffle of feet, the trap door opened and Chris's serious face appeared above me, "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you."

He didn't come rushing down, in fact it took him a few good seconds to make up his mind on whether he wanted to talk to _me_.

"What are you gonna say Chris?" came a whisper from above, who I recognized as Gordie's.

"Please?" I begged.

After a huge sigh, Chris reluctantly climbed down, although he wouldn't make eye contact with me when he reached the ground.

"I'm sorry Chris… I'm really sorry," I said softly.

"Sorry for what?"

"For not being as good a friend as I should've been… but things'll be better now because I took your advice and I've been standing up to him. Look, my neck's clear, plus I told him I'm gonna start spending time with you again. Just like we used to," I beamed at him. "I don't care what he says. You've always been a good friend to me and you deserve better than the way I've been treating you."

But my enthusiasm for the breakthrough didn't appear to be getting through to Chris. He finally looked at me with his wise blue eyes, but they spoke disappointment and I felt uncertainty and hesitation coming from him for the first time ever. "I just can't believe you went back to him Cass… after everything we talked about that time."

"I realize this is hard for you to understand…"

"It's not hard to understand. Ace gets what Ace wants," he shrugged. "I just thought you'd be smart enough to see through him this time."

"That's not how it happened though. I wanted _him_ back."

"Why?"

"Because…" I started, second guessing for a moment whether I should go through with the rest of my sentence, "I love him."

"You're fucking kidding me…"

"Look, I know you hate him and I understand why. But there's just so much I admire and respect about him that I can't tear myself away."

"Admire? Respect!" His surprise and disbelief sent his voice to the highest pitch and he became more riled up with every word. "Ace doesn't deserve respect and he doesn't care about anyone but himself Cass."

"Bullshit!"

"Bulltrue!"

"You don't know him like I do!"

"_I_ don't know him? Me? I grew up with the asshole! He used to push me over as a fuckin' toddler! I know him just as well as you do, but the difference between me and you is that you accept and put up with his bullshit!"

"I'm not accepting anything! If I was, then I wouldn't be standing here right now, would I?"

"Look," he said, calming himself down to speak wisely again. "All I'm trying to say is that I care about you and I don't want to see you get hurt… again."

"That won't happen because we're more solid than ever right now." I didn't mean to, but my frustration made me sound like I was rubbing it in his face. But all I wanted was for him to understand that I was happy with my decisions and that he didn't have to worry about me.

But he didn't see it that way… He saw it like Ace had duped and influenced me so badly that I was deluded and couldn't think rationally. He kept trying to make me see sense; he kept trying to save me. But after so many attempts he finally gave up and accepted that he was wasting his breath. I'd fallen too far into Ace's grasp to listen to reason… and I didn't want to be saved.

"I'm not arguing with you about this anymore." It wasn't just disappointment that I could feel from him now; he looked at me like he barely even recognized me. "I've said my piece and if you wanna keep defending him, and if you wanna go down that road with that piece of shit…"

"Watch your mouth Chris," I firmly interrupted.

"Don't come here again," he said sternly and yet with obvious hurt in his voice. "Like the guy's said… Cobra's aren't welcome."

* * *

Chris's opinions on Ace were firm and that was understandable considering what Ace had put him through for all those years. And me pushing my points to him like that, as if he'd suddenly see things from my point of view, was doomed to fail. But at the time, I just wanted him to understand that I was with Ace because I wanted to be and not because he was controlling me or influencing me in any way. And it was true… I no longer _needed_ him or _relied_ on him as I had in the past. Me taking that deal stripped him of every piece of leverage he had over me and the factor that he was helping me out, which made me feel like I owed him something, had been lifted. And so now I could clearly see that I wanted him purely for him and him only.

But as I walked out of the vacant lot that day, I didn't care who was right and who was wrong; that argument with Chris killed me inside. The blanket veiled over my head so thick that I could barely even see straight, let alone think straight. So many contradicting emotions tore through my mind so rapidly that it quickly became a huge mass of muddle and mess. Denial about the severity of what just happened, but at the same time, acknowledgement that it was irreparable. Regret for what I'd said, however, I'd needed to say it. Anger for the fact that Chris wouldn't hear me, but an understanding of why.

I didn't know where I was going and I didn't care. I just kept on walking and walking until I finally realized that I'd had enough walking and so collapsed onto the sidewalk in tears. My mind was confused, my heart was in agony, and the fact that I couldn't switch off the chaotic mass of thoughts was irritating the shit out of me. I knew I needed to shut myself up and function again so I could think things through rationally, but I just couldn't seem to do it… until a bitter-sweet answer came to me.

As soon as it had rested itself in my mind I found myself walking with purpose in one particular direction… and it would take me a long, long time to turn back from it. There was only one cure for this pain and I needed it… right now.

"Cass, what are you doing here?" Keith asked after opening the door to my wary knocks.

"Can I come in?" I knew darn well that I wasn't supposed to go there, but Keith and I both knew that nothing could ever happen between us for many reasons and he now seemed happy to accept that friends was our limit.

"What the fuck happened?" he asked, extremely worried. I knew I would've looked a mess, because I sure felt like it, but again… I didn't care.

"Chris and I had a massive argument." I tried to hold back the tears, but at the same time I knew I needed to get it out, and whose shoulder would be better to cry on than Keith's? Because Ace certainly wouldn't give a shit… in fact, nothing would make him happier.

"What about?" he asked sympathetically.

"Ace. What else would we have to argue about?"

"Tell me what happened," he said rolling his eyes, before letting me sink into his chest and wrapping his big arms around me.

"I tried telling Chris what I see in Ace, and of course he disagreed, and I understand why, but he can be so fucking stubborn sometimes," I began to ramble, blubbering into his chest. "But I loved that little shit like a brother, and I'd gone 'round there all excited that we'd get to spend some time together, but he didn't want to hear a word of what I had to say, and it just seemed so unlike him, but then again… maybe I'd just pushed him too far. Fuck, this is just fucking with my head…"

"Just calm down, your hyperventilating."

"I can't calm down," I said, pulling my head back to look up at him. "I've been trying to calm down for hours… I need something to help me…"

"I dunno if that's such a good idea."

"So you've still got some then?"

"I'm not doing this…" he said, letting me go and turning his back on me.

"Keith!" I hadn't had any in weeks, but I never forgot the feeling of it. And now that I had the idea in my head the burning desire of doing anything to get it was growing strong. "I know where you keep it… so either you get me some or I'll… Please?" I pouted softly.

"OK… fine," he said, making his way to the stash in his sofa. "But I don't want Ace turning up at my doorstep all fucked off because I gave in."

"Won't happen," I assured him, perking up with enthusiasm as he pulled out the familiar package.

"So you want a line here or what?"

The thought of leaving and doing it at my place did cross my mind… but I was so impatient for it that I couldn't wait that long. I eagerly sat next him on his sofa, probably a little too closely, and waited for him to cut it up.

"Got the money?"

"Not on me… but can you give me a ride to my place? I'll pay you then."

The guilt, the anguish, contempt, remorse… Once that white power hit my brain, my mind was suddenly cleared of it all. It was like waking up from a life-long sleep again and suddenly, everything made sense – Through my decisive and analytical reasoning I came to the conclusion that it was true that I was blinded by love, but there was also no doubt that Chris was blinded by hate… not that I held it against him. Because I felt too fucking good beyond words.

* * *

Notch by notch I turned my radio up louder as I spun around in circles in my lounge, feeling like I had enough energy to run a marathon. My vision seemed slightly hazy, and yet my head was crystal clear, and I marveled at how sharp my mind seemed as it flowed through various thoughts. Chris's face and his words were still lingering in my mind, but it didn't seem to affect me so much when I was on my happy buzz. But as soon as the high wore down every half an hour or so, I'd feel myself sinking back into reality and having to face the horror of what had happened again.

My mind would stress and strain, winding down every avenue as it tried to think of a way to fix things with him. _Should I go back there and apologize again?_ I wondered… but deep down, I knew there was no easy solution. This dispute ran deeper than a few harsh words said between friends, and it would take more than a measly apology to repair the damage.

Late-afternoon came and I'd already gone through a fair bit of what Keith had given me, even though I'd tried to pace myself… well at least I thought I had. I figured Ace would probably be home by now, and wondering what had happened to his truck, so I decided to make the journey back to his place. I took Keith's wise advice and let myself come down first, but was sure to grab my remaining stash and a bottle of whiskey before hitting the road.

By the time I turned down Ace's long gravel driveway I'd hit rock-bottom again. I parked up next to his '49, down in the basin, wishing I'd done a sneaky and had more a little further up the road. Maybe if my thoughts hadn't been so clouded and I'd been thinking straight I would've.

I slid out of the cab, with my bottle of booze firmly in my grasp, eager to see my man. The front door of the house was wide open, as it usually was, but just before I reached it I heard the sound of Eyeball's voice rising as he excitedly told one of his stories that'd we'd all heard a million times before. I wondered why Ace hadn't told him to stick a cork in it yet… and then I heard the encouraging laughter of girls following his every sentence. Well, that'll be why.

_Why today?_ I whined to myself, strongly considering driving home again. I really wasn't in the mood for entertaining company right now.

"Stealin' my truck eh? What am I gonna do with you?" Ace said sternly, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

"Told you you're a bad influence on me… and… anything you want," I said, looking him over and mischievously biting my lip. "Shot?" I held up my bottle of Southern Comfort, eager to drown my sorrows.

"Soon," he said, taking it from me and placing it on the kitchen table behind him before shuffling me outside and securely closing the front door. He led me a fair way out onto the grass, well away from the house and prying ears, and then with a serious look in his eyes, he leaned back against the chassis of the 1940's Willy's Coupe.

"What's up?" I asked, becoming concerned.

"Markus has found another guy to do the job and he wants to take _him_ on instead of you. So if you want this then I'm gonna have to convince him. But I ain't gonna bother if you're still up in the air about…"

"Count me in."

"What?" he asked, surprised. "This morning you said it was over your head…"

"I was wrong. I'm completely capable of doing this."

"What changed your mind?"

"I eventually came around, just like you said I would," I said with bitter determination.

Since the time of leaving the tree house that morning, I'd worked myself into such a state of anger, frustration and disappointment that by the time Ace asked me the question again, I was ready to stick two fingers in the air and say "why the fuck not?" What else did I have to live for anyway? I had no family left, no real friends, no legitimate job, no idea where I was heading in life, and now… no Chris to keep me at ground level. But at least I still had one thing… and he was standing right there in front of me. I wanted to cling to him tight… so tight that I would've followed him anywhere. Sink or swim, so be it.

Well actually… lets make that two things…

"See? What did I tell ya? I'm always right," he shrugged, as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He kissed me hard, but as soon as he sucked my tongue into his mouth my little secret was suddenly spoiled. He held me back a little to look at me and… nothing gets past him. "What the fuck have you been up to?"

"I err…"

"Don't try to lie me, I can fuckin' taste it."

"I've had a rough day OK? Can we talk about it later?"

"No, now."

With a resigning pout I winced my eyes as I reluctantly spilled. "Alright… I went to see Chris like I said I would… and he doesn't want anything more to do with me."

"Why? You didn't fuckin' tell him did you?"

"No! Don't stress… he didn't even bring that up."

"OK… so why then?"

"I don't wanna talk about this," I said, feeling the remainder of my little miracle worker in my pocket. I really could've done with a top-up at that moment.

"Talk Cass." He felt around the pockets of my shorts, found it and quickly tucked it into his. I'd been planning to hide it in the bathroom somewhere but obviously never got the chance.

"What the fuck? That's mine!"

"Keep talking and I might give it back."

"He hates me because I took your side and defended you." I thought it best to avoid telling him the part about Chris thinking I was duped and deluded though.

"Well that's that problem solved then. So then what happened? Lemme guess… you got all upset and bowled around to Keith's for a fix."

"Yeah… but you can't blame him for giving in OK? I would've swiped it off him if I had to…"

"That's 'cos you're hooked on it."

"Maybe… but just let me have it for a couple of days OK? Just until I get over this shit that happened with Chris."

"That depends, how much have you had? And don't lie to me."

"I've got about half left…" I mumbled my honest answer, knowing he could find out from Keith how much he gave me anyway.

"So, you've been doing it all afternoon then. Cass you've gotta be careful with this shit. I've seen guys ruin their lives on it."

"Well, if you hadn't noticed I haven't exactly got much of a life to ruin. All I do is wake up, do your fucking housework, get drunk, get fucked and go to sleep. So yeah, sure lets add boosting a few cars to the mix to make things a bit more interesting, why the fuck not?" I said, feeling in his pocket for my little packet of joy. "And if I need this to make me feel a little bit better about myself, then that's what I'm gonna do."

"So you're bored? That's your problem?"

I suddenly calmed down when he said that and realised that I wasn't just bored, I was pending on going insane - cabin fever even. He'd go out with the guys and do stuff all the time; I tag along sometimes, but didn't particularly fancy hanging out with them _all_ the time. All they'd talk about was girls, cars and fights… yay. And plus Vince was always there irritating the shit out of me.

"Yeah… I guess I am…"

"Well, you won't be for long." He turned me around and gently pushed me up against the car chassis, leaning in so close and with such a fiery passion in his eyes that I thought he might just do me right there on the front lawn. "Cos what you've just signed up for is gonna be some insane fun. And I'm not just talkin' 'bout the adrenaline rush you get when you've just popped the lock on a car and are sittin' in the hot seat, I'm talkin' 'bout money. You got money and the world's your oyster."

Excitement electrified me like a lightning bolt as he brought that point to light. He must've seen my face light up with it because he suddenly smirked as he saw me get on board to ride his wave length.

"You and me baby, what do you say?" Another lightning bolt electrified my chest as he whispered it in my ear and firmly ran his hands over my skin, up my sides, up to my shoulder blades and popped my shirt right over the top of my head.

"I say yeah. Let's fuckin' do this shit."


	20. Part 2: Prologue

**A/N: **OK... here it is... sorry for the long wait, but I've definitely needed it to sort the story lines and fine tune the new OC's. These chapters may churn out painfully slowly, because I've got a lot of work on, but bare with me and hopefully I can make each worth the wait :) Please show your support by adding faves and reviewing, I always smile when I see the emails :)

**Part 2 - Prologue**

* * *

Well… there's good news and there's bad news…

Ace returned back here yesterday for the first time in a week saying that he and Vince have given up looking for the culprit who framed him for snitching on Diego. That's because after two months of searching through multiple leads, they've come up with fuck all. So, the good news is that my friend is safe for now… but the bad news is that we still can't go home. I still have complete faith in Ace figuring a way out of this, but the longer it carries on the worse I feel.

The next plan they've got in mind is to go out and find someone else to lay the blame on. Preferably it'd be someone who already has their death warrant signed by Diego, but anyone they could argue a motive for would do. I'm just hoping it won't take them as long to find a fall guy as it took to admit failure on finding the _real_ guy. But by the way Ace was talking it sounded like they already have someone in mind… and if I were a betting girl, I'd put my money on Lewis.

When Ace last called Eyeball, who's keeping an eye on things in Castle Rock, he said my place has been ransacked so I don't feel safe enough to go back there now. Lucky I decided to come after all huh? In the meantime I'm stuck here, pretending I'm driving myself insane with boredom. Well, I guess I've got two secrets now then haven't I? I've pretty much been writing day and night, only stopping to eat, sleep and rest my hand when it's cramping or just too knackered to write anymore. I think I'm kinda addicted to it… so addicted that when I ran out of paper, I risked hitching a ride into the nearest town to buy some more. Good thing I did though. I'll need something to keep my worrying mind occupied for the next… who knows how long?

So many good and so many unpleasant memories… and that's just the start…


	21. Chapter 1: Friend and Foe

**Friend and Foe**

* * *

"That's my girl," Ace whispered in my ear, being sure to brush the stubble on his chin across my neck. He knew what he wanted and how to get it from me… and I'm not just talking about the fact that he'd just succeeded in pulling me into his scheme. That guy knew my weak spots and he was about to take full advantage of them all. "I think this calls for a celebration." I felt two large mischievous hands slip under the waistband of my shorts, skim the soft skin of my ass and then grope me hard, pulling my hips snug into his.

"What? Here? We can see the road…" I anxiously peered over his shoulder. The property was heavily bordered with bushes and trees, but the driveway created an 8ft wide gap where the main highway could clearly be seen. The dip in height, from road level down into the basin where we stood, created some kind of cover but enough for my liking.

"Stop being so paranoid. Now get your pants off."

"I'm not being paranoid… I just… why don't we go back to my place? House is empty, no one to disturb us…" I tried to say it in the most convincing way possible, but his mind was already made up.

"Hmph," he shrugged, pulling his hands out from my shorts and then wedging them into the tight space between us. "Nah, I'd rather just do you right here." In one swift motion, all three buttons on my shorts popped and I felt them and my panties skim my legs as they fell to the ground.

My belly fluttered as I realized he was gonna get his way, as usual. But it didn't take him too long to convince me once I felt him nudge my legs apart and prod me with two insistent fingers.

"Ace, you are one kinky son of a bitch," I moaned, going limp, my breathing becoming heavier with each persuasive movement.

"Me? You're the one who loves being lathered in whipped cream."

"Hey! That was your idea," I chuckled, feeling my cheeks blush.

"What about the maple syrup? Whose idea was that, huh?"

As the memories of those nights came back to me an impish smile urged its way onto my lips which I couldn't suppress. "OK fine… I'll take responsibility for _that_ one." Then, barely realizing what I was doing, I reached between us and popped the button on his pants before undoing the zipper. "But whose idea was it to do it in your front yard, in the late afternoon… huh?"

"That was all your doing." He began forcing me backwards towards the front of the coupe and then hoisted me up onto the edge of the rounded front fender.

"My doing? Why my doing?" I chuckled, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and peering anxiously at the road again.

"It's always your doing," he whispered, leaning close into me. "You drive me fucking crazy."

Wrapping my legs around him I released a stifled moan of ecstasy as I embraced the moment. By this stage I felt so pumped and rushed with desire that I couldn't have cared less where we were. He has that effect on me a lot; I can go from fear to arrogance at the drop of a hat. I feel so safe and secure when I'm with him; I feel like no one can touch me and nothing else matters when he has me in his grasp. As long as I know he's got my back, I feel invincible.

Well… that is until we're disturbed and I'm forced back to reality.

The front door handle of his house rattled and the hinges whined behind me, snapping me out of my heated trance. My eyes flew open wide and I freaked out, pushing against Ace as I struggled to get down. But he clamped me in, his eyes glazing with lust as he peered over my shoulder.

"Always fuckin' Eyeball," he mumbled, carrying on without a care.

I twisted around to see Eyeball wobble out of the house some distance from us, down to his car to grab something. He hadn't seen us at all, probably due to his high level of intoxication, and staggered back inside leaving the door wide open. Then with an almost instinctive reaction to seeing my bottle of Southern Comfort on the table, he reached out and swept it up.

"Hey! He just stole my whisky!" Rescuing my much cherished bottle seemed like a convenient excuse to make Ace let me go so I could cover myself, but it was false hope really. I kicked and wriggled, trying to get down off the fender, but he clamped me in tight.

"Where do you think you're going? I ain't done with you yet."

"But… but… those guys are hogs!" I begged, clinging to my excuse and knowing darn well that Eyeball and Vince could polish off that brand new bottle in half an hour flat. "Besides, the door's wide open." The height of the hood was well above the height of the fender and so no one from behind would've been able to see much, but still…

"Where the fuck did Ace go?" came Vince's voice from behind me. "Oh, no one go out the front for a while," he snickered, swinging the door closed again.

_How fucking embarrassing!_ I cringed, feeling my cheeks flush again. But Ace had paid no attention to Vince whatsoever and continued working himself up. Behind me felt secure now, I could rely on Vince not to let anyone come out, but I still kept a close eye on the road over Ace's shoulder.

"Can we please make this quick?" I pleaded.

"Well, that depends; ladies first."

_Oh great,_ I thought, blushing even harder. By that he meant, the longer it took me to blow the longer we'd be there for. He was in no rush; that that guy can go for hours. It may have sounded like a courteous offer, but I'm sure he was just enjoying making me squirm. It didn't take long to lose myself in the moment again though, not with his skillful fingers making me weak at the knees. I finally cried out, gasping for breath and that was his cue to really go to town on me. It had been a long time since I last let him take to my neck, but he was so worked up that my protests went unheard. He ravaged me like caged beast that had defiantly chewed through the bars.

When he was finally all over, he still wouldn't let me down for a good few minutes. He just kept kissing me with a new kind of passion that kinda blew me away. _What the fuck is wrong with him?_ I wondered. Usually, once he was done, he'd just leave me alone and go grab a cigarette or roll over and go to sleep. I guessed that agreeing to stand by his side had just put him in a really, really good mood.

He zipped himself up and helped me down off the fender before playfully bending over to swipe my panties and shorts of the ground. "I 'spose you'll be wanting these back," he grinned, cheekily holding them above my head, up out of my reach.

"Ace! Fucking give those to me!" I opted to whack him a few times rather than trying to jump and snatch them.

As he fended me off, he rolled them in a ball and made out like he was gonna throw them up onto the road. "Go fetch," he laughed, before finally handing them to me.

I blushed again, pouting sourly at him as I pulled them up and grabbed my shirt off the ground, throwing it over my head. I was thankful to finally feel whole again.

"That was a one off," I warned him lightly. "Don't ever do that to me again."

"You know you loved it," he grinned, slinging his arm around my neck to lead me back towards the house.

"So who are the girls in there?" I asked. "I heard them laughing before."

"Can't remember names. Vince and Eyeball's girls."

"Oh no..." I halted, stopping us in our tracks. "Is one of them Carol?"

"Yeah that's the one."

"Can't we go out and do something else then? That chick don't shut up…"

"Quit your whining." He slapped my butt, forcing me to walk. "You're always complaining about hanging around the guys all the time, so here's your chance for some 'girly' time."

"Ugh… if girly time means picnics, count me out."

Ace swung open the front door and I shot through the lounge, down the hall and into the bathroom without a look or a word to anyone. After cleaning myself up I gave a sigh of excited relief to be alone, and I reached into my pocket for a top up before being faced with socialization. After indulging in it all day, my head was feeling clouded and dazed now that I was suddenly without it. But to my shock, my pockets were empty. I patted myself down in desperation, as if I hadn't felt them thoroughly enough the first time. It could've dropped on the grass outside, but somehow I didn't think so. _Fuckin' thief!_

* * *

**2**

The house was filled with the voices of Vince and Eyeball, who were locked into some pointless argument, and I heaved a sigh before re-entering the lounge. But not a second further to me poking my head out from the hallway, I was welcomed with an excited chirp which killed the guys bickering dead flat.

"Oh my God! Cassie!" squealed Carol, promptly capturing everyone's undivided attention. She sat on the sofa that's against the kitchen wall, tucked under Eyeball's arm, her eyes wide with enthusiasm.

"Hi… it's Carol right?" I replied hesitantly. I took the sofa directly opposite hers and Eyeball's, welcoming Ace's arm as he wrapped it around my waist to pull me in tightly beside him.

"Yeah! How are you?"

"Fan-fucking-tastic actually, thanks for asking," I exaggerated an excited voice, rolling my eyes over to Ace with an equally exaggerated smile.

"What?" he shrugged, mumbling through the cigarette that hung loosely between his lips. He knew dam well _'what'_.

"Have you met Natalie?" Carol continued. "Her family owns the Blue Point Diner now. I heard you used to work there too!"

"Hi," said the seemingly pleasant girl next to Vince. She'd been so quiet, and plus Carol took up the entire 15 seconds worth of my attention, so I'd barely even noticed her sitting there. But once I looked at her, I couldn't see past her. She was pretty… way too pretty for Vince. She had shoulder length wavy dark hair that contrasted against her pure white skin, and big brown doe eyes that smiled at me just as kindly as her cute little mouth placed flawlessly between plump cheeks. There was nothing plump about her body though; she had a figure to be envied… not that you could see much of it with her loose fitting dress covering everything but her ankles. I flashed an insecure sideways glance at Ace, just to make sure he wasn't eyeing her up, before reaching out across the coffee table to gently shake her hand.

"I'm Cassie. Where are you from Natalie?" I tried my best to say it in a way that would help her to feel more comfortable than she looked. She seemed to appreciate the gesture because she suddenly picked up her posture and took a small breath of confidence.

"Santa Cruz."

"Your family moved from the beaches of Santa Cruz… to here?" Without taking my eyes off her, I sneakily poked the pocket of Ace's jeans beside me but couldn't feel anything in there. So I wrapped my arm around behind him and poked the other. I felt my bad in that one, but he quickly weaved his fingers through mine and held my hand firmly to stop me from stealing it back.

"Yeah, my parents wanted to get us kids – that is, my twin brother and I – away from the bad influences of a big city and out into the fresh wholesome air of a small town."

Everyone else in the room was thinking it, and everyone tried to hold it back. But none of us, even Carol, could help crack a laugh. I don't think Natalie could've found a group of worse influences to sit among if she tried.

"So how's the diner going? Doing alright?" I asked, clearing my throat.

"We're doing OK. It definitely doesn't make as much money as our diner back in California, but we're coping."

"Well, if you ever need another worker about the place… I'm here."

She cracked her own laugh at that offer. "If you knew my parents, you wouldn't be saying that. They're erm… strict."

"They're major bible bashers," corrected Vince.

"Vince!" exclaimed Carol.

"No, it's OK," Natalie reassured us. "Vince is right; they are. They're beyond just 'being religious' like normal folks… they're very strict on being 'proper'."

No one quite knew how to respond to that… so I took it upon myself to delicately change the subject. "So who wants another drink?" Eyeball had already cracked open the bottle, grabbed a stack of glasses and poured the first round – not to my surprise. When it comes to alcohol, that guy suddenly becomes extremely efficient.

"Me's" and "yep's" came from everyone except Natalie.

"You don't want one Natalie?" I asked as I began to pour the round.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea… my parents would probably smell it on me."

"Why? Do you have to go soon? It's only early, and it's Saturday night!"

"I have to be home by seven," she said, glancing at the ground, her pure white cheeks blushing pink. "That's our supper time."

"OK," I smiled sensitively. "You've still got a couple of hours then… are you sure?"

She glanced sideways at Vince and bit the corner of her lip as if asking for his advice, but his blank look didn't offer her much help. "Alright, go on then," she finally said, with a sigh of enthusiasm.

An hour and three drinks each later, the six of us had polished off the bottle leaving us hanging out for more. Natalie was past being tipsy at this point; she'd laugh uncontrollably at Carol who got louder and louder as she knocked each drink back like she was quenching a dire thirst. I tried to keep a happy face on, but all the while my urge for more white was building stronger within me. I was feeling agitated and kept fidgeting with Ace's zippo; he'd take it off me every five minutes and tell me off for using up all his lighter fluid. Vince and Eyeball found something new to argue over every ten minutes which only agitated me more. I craved to reclaim my packet from Ace to help me relax a little, but he was stubborn. Every time I'd whisper or make the suggestion to him he'd slyly pretend that he didn't know what I was talking about.

"I need some fresh air," I grumbled, abruptly standing, finally reaching the end of my tether. I was feeling tense, edgy and moody. I hastily made my way down the hall to Ace's room to see if he had any hidden.

After going through all his stuff, checking every possible hiding place, I did it all over again just in case I'd missed a spot. There was none in the compartment under his floorboard, none under his mattress, none anywhere. After a third anxious search, I reluctantly headed back out into the hall empty handed. A loud laugh from Vince then suddenly rang out through the walls, and I rolled my eyes, turned on my heels and headed down the hall in the opposite direction. The hinges on the back door had rusted badly, so it made a loud whining sound as I pulled it open, probably alerting everyone to where I was. I stooped down on the edge of the low porch, trying to block out the voices from inside. I just needed some time alone to calm myself down and ride out my irritability.

"Do you mind if I join you?" came Natalie's voice behind me, with a hiccup.

_Erm, yes I mind…_ "Not at all," I replied in politeness.

She sat down closely next to me and put her shoes aside, before pushing her perfect looking toes through the dusty dry dirt as if it were sand on a beach.

"Carol's erm… very excitable isn't she?" she said lowly, so as not to be overheard.

"Yep," I sighed. "She seems nice enough though. She's just really, really full on. How long have you known her?"

"A few weeks," she hiccupped again. "I met her at the diner one day when she and some friends came in for lunch. I met Eyeball through her, and then Vince."

"So what's that like? Being with Vince. I'm really sorry to say this but… I can't stand him," I laughed, hoping she'd forgive my honesty.

"That's OK. He can't stand you either," she laughed back. "I know because he talks about you a lot. Or, moans about you rather… but, he's OK…"

"Just OK?"

Biting the corner of her lip, she sighed deeply and stared in thought out towards the overgrown mass of trees which lined the perimeter of Ace's back yard. Glancing back at me, she opened her mouth a little and frowned like she was about to ask me a serious question, but then hesitated, sighed again and looked back out towards the trees.

"You can talk to me, you know… if you need to," I said gently. "I know we don't know each other, but I've been told I'm a pretty good listener." It was obvious something was on her mind, but since she was still hesitant to speak, I considerately dropped the topic. "So, California hey? I haven't been down that way since my father died when I was five."

"Oh yeah, I heard your parents died… I'm sorry."

"It's OK. I'm doing OK," I sighed with a kind smile.

"Actually… please don't take this the wrong way but… I envy you."

"Really?" I asked, disbelieving that anyone could possibly envy me, especially for that reason.

"You're just so… free. You can do whatever you like whenever you like and you don't have anyone to enforce silly rules on you. You don't have anyone to tell you to be home by seven, make you say your prayers before every bite you eat, ground you severely for every small mistake you make…" her voice trailed off and she got that distant look in her eyes again. I could tell this girl had a lot weighing on her mind.

"But I also don't have anyone to teach or guide me. I always used to think parents were overrated, until there was a time in my life when I needed them the most… and then, they weren't there. So, appreciate what you've got," I smiled humbly.

"Oh, I do appreciate them," she reassured me. "I just wish they weren't so… strict. My parents are devout Catholics and they expect me to act a certain way, live a certain way, believe in certain things… but I don't think that's right. Am I just crazy, or is that not right Cassie?"

"Well, if you're asking for my opinion… I think people should live how they want to live, sure. It's being happy that's important. But when you're young, you should be given some boundaries or you…" I was going to say, _end up like me_, but decided that might be a bad idea. "…might run off the rails."

"I agree with that… but I certainly feel like the crazy one in my household. My brother would do anything my parents say, without even thinking about whether it makes sense. He's like a sheep. He follows the rest of the herd while I'm struggling to wander through them all in the opposite direction."

"You're not crazy. It sounds to me like you're the smart one."

"Oh… thank you," she smiled. "I just… want some room to breathe. I want to find out who I am. It's so hard to do that when I'm hardly allowed to leave the house."

"You're here now though aren't you?" I said, cocking an eyebrow, wondering if her situation was really as bad as she made out.

"I'm not supposed to be… I'm only supposed to be visiting Carol. But she wanted to see Eyeball and so we told her parents we were going shopping for new dresses. My parents don't know about Vince by the way… they'd never approve."

"So you're a bit of a rebel then are ya?" I grinned, poking her in the arm. She took the matters too seriously to laugh however.

"It's scary though… if my parents ever found out I lied I'd be grounded for a month."

"Well, your secrets are safe with me."

She took a deep sigh like our little talk had lifted a weight off her shoulders and her cute little mouth smiled at me once again. "I just know there's something better out there for me Cassie. I really can't see myself getting married, having kids and being ruled by the husband and household for the rest of my life… like my mother."

"To be honest with you, I know there's certain 'etiquette' for a woman in the household, but my mom never taught me much about that stuff so I've really got no idea. Whoever ends up with me will be bitterly disappointed if they expect _me_ to be tied to the house."

"See? You're so free minded, so free spirited! You're so lucky Cassie."

"I agreed with you all the way up until the word 'lucky'. I've gotta be the unluckiest person I know."

"You're pretty lucky to have Ace through aren't you? What's it like being with him?"

It must have taken me a good couple of minutes to come up with an answer for her. Ace and my relationship was so unique I couldn't put it into words, let alone expect someone else to understand. "Let me put it this way… he's all I've got."

* * *

3

Our conversation was suddenly interrupted by a loud rapping on the front door. I twisted around, glancing behind me to see if I could recognize the shape through the pressed glass – The back door, hallway door and front door all align perfectly so you can see straight through.

"I should probably see who that is," I muttered. "Ace doesn't seem to be answering it." After wanting so desperately to be alone, I was surprised to find that Natalie had cured me of my irritable mood. I was quite disappointed at having our little chat interrupted. For some strange reason I felt so at ease talking to her, like I'd known her forever.

Just as I stepped through the back door Ace casually wandered in from the lounge and into the kitchen, swinging open the front door.

"Hey Ace, I'm back," said a small petite blond thing as she happily slid her arms around my man's waist, pulling him in tight for a hug.

"Back from your grandmother's huh?" he asked, not hugging her back, but not pushing her off him either. Instead he just raised his arms to lean in on the doorway as if he didn't have a mop of blond hair pressed against his chest.

"Gee, I thought you'd be happier to see me than that," she pouted, leaning back from him, but not letting him go. "I missed you."

Ace shrugged as if to say, "I don't really give a shit," and her face grew daunt with concern.

"What's the matter?"

"What? You haven't heard? I thought with your network of gossiping bitches, you would've."

"Hey, the blond boomerang's back, hahaha," laughed Eyeball, as he drunkenly trudged from the lounge to the refrigerator for another beer.

With Natalie close on my tail, I bustled down the hallway into the kitchen, determined to make my presence known. Being much closer now, the first thing I noticed was her eyes. They were sleepily seductive and so light blue that they were barely distinguishable from the whites. I could see how any guy that stared into those could be strung along. She wore a dark blue sleeveless dress that sat well above the knees to show off her perfectly tanned legs and matching blue Mary Jane's. And she was little… she didn't even reach Ace's shoulders. I'm sure she would have been born premature or something.

Her seductive blues stared so wide at me that they looked more fearful than disbelieving. She obviously knew dam well who I was.

"This isn't fair!" she cried out in protest, her mouth gaping wide as she struggled to come up with a better line to make Ace change his mind.

"That's life kiddo. See ya round," Ace shrugged, stepping back and carelessly swinging the door closed in her face.

But she wouldn't take no for an answer. She swung the door open again, her light blues glaring at me hard with hate. "So, what? You want some parentless pauper for a girlfriend instead of me?"

"What the fuck did she just call me?" I stood there for a moment, flabbergasted, disbelieving my own ears. She may have been little… but she had a fucking big mouth. I could feel my cheeks heating up in anger and my own mouth was ready to let rip. I irritably busted forwards, intending to get closer and stare down at her while I blew my top, but Eyeball grabbed my wrist to hold me back.

"You better watch what you say," Ace laughed. "Or I'll tell Eyeball to let the jealous girlfriend go. Who knows what'll happen to you then." I don't quite know what he meant by that; I'd never been in a fight in my life. But if she wanted to rumble I was more than willing to give it my best shot. "I'm up for a bitch fight, how 'bout you Eyeball?"

"Won't say no to that," Eyeball smirked, keenly letting me go again.

"My money's on the blond," called Vince from behind us in the lounge.

"Fuck up Vince," I called back, scowling. "Sorry Natalie."

"Ooh, she's got a potty mouth honey," Sarah said to Ace, staring me up and down, noting every flaw she could possibly find. "Not very ladylike."

"I think you'd be wise to take Ace's advice," I said in a sinister tone, stepping closer and standing my ground next to my man. "Watch your mouth."

"If you lay one finger on me you'll regret it," she smirked slyly.

"One finger? Fuck off; keep talking to me like that and I'll be pounding you down to the ground with all ten."

Sarah was a little taken aback by that and her jaw dropped. I'd said it with a lot more gusto than intended, and to be honest I even surprised myself. I'd usually play things a lot more diplomatically, but I guess my withdrawals from the white were showing through. Saying that, I didn't regret the threat; how dare she use my dead parents to insult me like that? I found that plain disgusting.

"What's going on here?" Carol hastily came bursting into the kitchen from the bathroom, putting her fists on her hips like Superman ready to save the day. "Sarah, you know I tried to tell you…"

"Tried to tell me? When!"

"I did! Weeks ago, over the phone! You just didn't want to hear it, remember?"

"How can you do this to me?" Sarah looked pleadingly up at Ace, willing him to change his mind. "After everything we've been through together!"

"We ain't been through fuck all," Ace mocked, stepping back to carelessly slam the door in her face again.

Carol had too much heart to let Sarah deal with this on her own. She marched crossly across the kitchen to open the door. "You're so insensitive Ace!" she scowled at him before slamming it behind her. But Ace just shrugged it off. In his eyes, neither of them were of any importance to him and so he didn't care what they thought. And Carol _was_ stating the obvious after all.

"Cass, let's go lay our hands on another bottle," Ace said in good spirits, carrying on like nothing had happened. "Where's my keys?"

After only one meeting, I already hated Sarah. But as Ace slammed the door on her like she was nothing, my empathetic side began to look at things from her point of view. "Where's my fucking keys?" Ace asked again, wandering impatiently around the house. But I barely heard him. I just stood at the door, fixated on it, visualizing Sarah breaking down on the porch with Carol's kind arm wrapped around her shoulders. I knew very well what it was like to be in Ace's bad books, but I deserved what I got at that time; Sarah hadn't done anything to deserve this. Ace had used her in the exact way he said; as a convenient piece of ass.

"Come on, let's go," Ace said grabbing my wrist and pulling me out of the house. I was expecting Sarah and Carol to be out there, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Ace decided to take the '49 and we made our way up the drive, turning right to head into town. In the near distance we could see the two girls walking, one with a consoling arm around the other.

"Give them a ride," I told Ace sternly.

"No can do."

"Why not?"

"Cos we ain't goin' to town." We sped past them and I felt more than guilty as they soon became distance dots behind us. "We've got business to take care of."

We took a left about a quarter mile north of town, and headed east along another main road, back out into the countryside. There were a few more turns before we took a hard left into a dusty driveway and climbed our way up its steep hill. As we came over the rise, I recognized where we were… Markus's place.

* * *

**Story Beats**

1 Ace is happy Cass agreed to join him in the car conversion opperation  
1 Ace confiscates Cass's cocaine from her  
2 Cass meets Vince's girlfriend, Natalie  
3 Cass meets Ace's ex, Sarah  
3 Sarah protests when she finds out Ace is back with Cass  
3 Ace takes Cass to Markus's to take care of 'business'


	22. Chapter 2: A Valuable Lesson

**A Valuable Lesson**

* * *

Ace parked up outside Markus's trailer and clunked the heavy door of his '49 closed behind him while I reluctantly followed. I hadn't exactly received a warm welcome on my first unintentional visit, and since I heard he wanted someone else in instead of me, I expected visit number two to be just as rough.

"Let me do the talking," Ace said, taking my hand in his and leading me through the open front door.

We entered the workshop and all we could see of Markus was his greasy jeans stuck out from underneath the furthest car as he lay on a creeper. Not realizing we were there, he continued singing away to the very loud radio as it played, "Who do you love?" by Bo Diddley. Ace cheekily turned it down and we got a solo of the chorus from Markus just before he realized the music had gone quiet.

"Who's fucking with my radio?" he called out rigidly. We then heard the tinker of tools being dropped onto the concrete floor before the greasy jeaned legs rolled their owner out from under the car. As soon as he saw me he rolled his eyes as if to say, _"Are you kidding me?" _– Evidence that he was no closer to agreeing that letting me in was a viable option. "You don't give up do you?" he mumbled grudgingly to Ace, rising from his creeper.

"Cassie's in," Ace said solidly.

"No way. We should get Dean to do it, like I said."

"Dean's a shifty little fuck who I've got about as much trust for as a psycho with a gun pointed at my head. You better not have said anything to him."

"No, not yet," Markus sighed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. Perhaps he agreed with Ace on that after all.

"Why are we even looking for someone else when we've got the answer right here?"

Markus put his fists on his hips and tilted his head slightly, staring at me patronizingly. "This is crazy. She's a fuckin' chick!"

"What's that got to do with anything?" I piped up, unable to hold my tongue at the sexist comment.

"Chicks don't do shit like this. Chicks are for cooking and cleaning and… you know. Just because Ace is fuckin' pussy-whipped doesn't mean I trust you."

Ace took a hard swallow as he struggled to restrain himself from grabbing Markus by the collar and pinning him up against the nearest tool cabinet. Markus is about the only person in the world that Ace will let talk to him like that, mainly for the fact that he needs him. But that goes both ways. Anyone who knows Markus well enough knows not to push him either, but Ace being Ace does it all the time and Markus will let it go. Markus may be no match for Ace's strength, but he is not to be underestimated; his mind is as sharp as his mouth and if he really wanted to take you down, he could and he would.

If I had two words to describe Markus, they'd be 'intelligent' and 'workaholic'. He was only 21 at the time, but already had more skills and experience with cars than a man who'd been working on them for decades. That guy could turn a wheelchair into a dragster, I'm sure. But it's not just cars he knows the ins and outs of; he has a vast amount of knowledge, especially in business and in the law. He just knows stuff… it's hard to imagine how considering he dropped out of high school at 14. I've heard him say that he felt like school was holding him back too much. He just wanted to bust out of there and start doing something worthwhile with his life instead of sitting around and being lectured on useless stuff by insolent 'so called' _teachers_. He knew he was more than capable of making it in the world without any of that, especially for what he intended to do, and he's picked up far more from practical experience than he'd ever learn in school.

He met Ace while working at one of the mechanics shops in Castle Rock – what a disaster for society that was. With Ace's contacts and his daring _'can't touch me'_ attitude, along with Markus's high-intellect, those two make a fairly dangerous pair. And although there's this constant power struggle between them, they have a unique kind of respect for each other and they know that they're far better off working towards making a shitload together, rather than going it alone.

Maybe Markus is some kind of genius. Maybe he's just so successful because he's a dam hard worker. I dunno. But what's clear is that the last thing you want to do is cross him. Yep… I still had a lot to learn about that guy…

"Only good for cooking and cleaning? Are you fucking serious?" I spat at him in contempt. Ace may have had his reasons to let the insults slide, but I was on the verge of storming out. I opened my mouth to rant some more first but was interrupted by Ace's firm hand on my shoulder, along with a warning look like, if I said another word in a raised voice he'd throw me out himself. So, I took a deep breath and composed myself before taking a more… tactical approach.

"Don't you think that's exactly the point? Who would ever suspect me? And apart from being _female_," I said clearing my throat, "do I look like the kind of girl who'd be capable of something like this?"

Markus followed my every word carefully, his round blues looking me up and down like he was beginning to take the proposition seriously. "No," he said shaking his head slightly. "You don't look capable at all. This isn't five-finger discounting at the local stationary shop. Are you really sure you can handle this?"

In all honesty, I wasn't sure… I didn't have a clue on how to do the job or know how high the risks would be. But I wasn't about to admit that to him. "Of course I can," I shrugged. "But, if you think you've got me all worked out and you don't need me, then fuck ya. I don't need you either." I turned to storm out, not caring whether either of them called me back. I wasn't trying some kind of reverse psychology on him, I meant it.

"OK," he sighed, making me stop in my tracks and turn hopefully on my heels. "Tuesday, I'm gonna have these three done and shipped outta here, so Wednesday's gonna be your night for do or die. You've got one shot. And if you even come close to fucking it up, you're out."

"Perfect. See you then," I smiled assertively, forcing myself to believe my own words of confidence, just so it looked authentic. But discovering that I only had four days to learn the ropes made my insides turn to custard.

As I climbed back into Ace's car, I grew tense with worry. Four days and I'd have to go out and do this insane thing. _Why do I keep getting myself into these things? _I groaned banging my head on the dash. _Why am I so intent on getting in? _Well, if anger, boredom and money weren't good enough reasons, then I certainly had a prime motive now… proving Markus wrong.

Ace followed me out soon afterwards with a quietly content grin on his face. "Nice job," he said casually, as we rolled down Markus's drive.

"Ace, what the fuck am I gonna do? He wants me ready by Wednesday and I don't know the first thing about this shit!"

"Relax, we can get it done by then," he said, motioning me to move closer.

"Are you sure?" I scooted over and welcomed his arm as he cloaked it around my shoulders.

"Just trust me."

I relaxed a little hearing that; Ace's judgment had certainly proven itself worthy in the past, and so if he said things would sort themselves out then they probably would. I sure hoped so anyway. I didn't want to be the one proven wrong.

* * *

The sun had barely risen when Ace pulled me out of bed by the wrists, made me eat the breakfast he'd whipped up and then dragged me out the back of his house. And even by that time, I was still half asleep. After not working or having to be anywhere in particular for months on end, my sleeping patterns were way off the norm. I wouldn't get to sleep until 3am most nights and then I'd get up at around midday, so seeing the sunrise was a novelty. Slumping down on the back deck I yawned and buried my face in my hands, yearning for even just a few more seconds sleep. I would've been a lot more alert if Ace had let me sleep in for a couple more hours, but he knew just as well as I, that there was no time to waste.

He battled to get the rusty hinged doors of the shed open to reveal the two vehicles, the '51 Lincoln and the '38 Dodge pickup – one of which I'd had the pleasure of riding in for one night only. I melted at the sight of the Dodge and wished we could drive that around on a daily basis instead of the shitty '49. Well… although the engine was mint, the '49 was shitty compared to these polished and primed beauties. After driving the Lincoln out onto the back lawn behind the house, he locked the door behind him with the key and then pulled an old wrist watch from his pocket to time my speed.

"OK, get into it," he instructed, slumping back into a deck chair and reaching for his packet of cigarettes.

"That's your wise advice? Get into it?" I asked cynically, raising my eyebrows.

"Just do it…"

"Fine," I sighed. I bent down to inspect the lock and was half expecting an entirely different mechanism to your typical store door. But it when I inserted my tension wrench and pick, it felt just like a regular pin-tumbler lock.

"What are you bending down like that for? Don't you think that's gonna be just a little bit suspicious?" Ace called from the sideline.

"Geez, cut me a little bit of slack! It's been a while you know…"

"Obviously. You're too fucking slow!"

"Can you just shut up and let me do it?" I said blushing and beginning to worry whether I was in over my head. I tried to imagine doing this on some random person's vehicle that I didn't own. _If there is a hell, I'm going to it_, I thought bitterly. But it was too late to pull out now. I regrettably took Ace's advice and tried to pick it standing up, and it wasn't any more difficult that way. "There done," I pouted, finally pulling the door open.

"Two minutes. Do it again." He threw me the keys to relock it before disappearing inside to grab his first beer of the day.

For a good hour or so, I went to work on the lock over and over again, eventually getting it every time but nowhere near fast enough according to Ace. That was alright for him to say though. He got to relax back with a box of beers, undercover from the sun which was already blazing down at 8am, while I stood out in the heat with my fingers cramping up.

"One minute ten. Still not good enough," he said, relaxing back with his hands behind his head.

"What time are you aiming for?" I asked irritably, resenting him for sitting back while I had to do all the work.

"Ten seconds."

"Ten seconds! I can't do it in ten seconds!"

"You can, and you will. Unless you think you've got the strength to snap the pins with a screwdriver…"

"Huh?"

"Just quit your pissin' 'n moaning and get it done, OK?"

The sun rose over head and really began to beat down on me as I continued picking the lock over and over. I'd never spent the time to practice like that before and it was definitely beneficial. My overall technique improved and I also got Ace to make me some new tools, because my pieces of scrap metal weren't exactly designed for the job. Once I found the ones that seemed to work best, my time reduced dramatically. Every few tries after that, I'd knock a few more seconds off and that gave me even more determination to reach Ace's goal.

"Come on Cass, you're getting there," he encouraged.

As a bit of wishful thinking I lazily raked my pick across the pins instead of picking each individually… and to my surprise, a couple of them actually stuck. I rapidly raked twice more and bingo… my tension wrench turned fully to unlock the door.

"What the fuck?" I said beaming as I pulled it open. "Well that was a lot fuckin' easier…"

"What… you did it already?" Ace asked suddenly sitting forwards on his deck chair.

"Yeah…" I grinned in disbelief. After relocking the door I tried the new technique again and beamed proudly to get it open in record time.

"That was six seconds," he praised, tossing a beer through the air for me to catch.

* * *

The next day it was the same deal. Ace dragged me out of bed early in the morning and had me out on the back lawn picking the lock over and over and over. I was well within my ten second time frame now whether I used the raking technique or picked the pins individually. I was feeling pretty happy with myself at this point, and was in high hopes that I would be ready to make Markus eat his words by Wednesday.

"OK. On to the next thing," Ace said opening the driver's side door and gesturing me to sit. "Can you get that started by picking it?"

"No idea, I'll try…" I said, sliding into the small slice of paradise. I inserted my tools and, sure enough, found that I could apply the same technique on the ignition as I had on the door. In under ten seconds I had the big beast purring like a pussy cat.

"Now, if for any reason you can't do it that way, you can always use one of these." He handed me a small flathead screw driver.

"Erm… OK," I said gazing awkwardly at the ignition. My first thought was to shove it in and use it like a key, so I went with that idea but couldn't seem to turn it.

"If you're gonna do it that way you gotta put a lot more effort into it than that," he said, taking it from me. He rose up beside me, half sitting on the edge of the seat, half kneeling on the step, and began shoving the screwdriver in with brute force.

"There's no way I'm gonna be able to do that," I said, touching his arm to stop him from damaging the ignition.

"OK, so what do you think?" he asked, handing the screwdriver back to me.

"You're not being too generous with hints are you?" I said, staring dumbly around the wheel.

Ace took a knee beside me and pointed to the screws that held the steering panel on. He undid them before wedging the panel off to expose the ignition cylinder and the wires running to it. The wires had already been cut, but were wound back together with insulation tape. "OK. Red's typically your power, brown's your starter." He then reached for his switchblade and recut the power wires a little lower than the original, before striping the plastic casing. "Always wear gloves for this," he said sternly, but failing to comply with his own rule as he twisted the red wires together. "I don't want you getting electrocuted."

"Aw, that's sweet of you," I laughed with a hint of sarcasm. Never mind putting me at risk of ending up in jail…

The dashboard came alive along with the radio. "Now you've got power," he said, making it seem simple. "Now you do the browns." I did as he instructed, cutting them and stripping the wires as he'd shown me. "Now touch 'em together and give it a bit of gas." I couldn't believe it when the car actually fired up. "Don't keep em together, you just need to complete the circuit for a second – just like turning a key."

"OK, I think I can handle that…"

"And if you've only got one brown wire, touch it to the power."

"How do I turn it off?"

"Pull the power wires apart…"

"Oh… right." Sure enough, I tried it and the engine instantly died.

At the time I didn't think learning how to hotwire would ever come in use to me. Picking the locks was far quicker, far easier and not to mention, less destructive. But the lesson proved to be more valuable than either of us could've predicted…

* * *

**A/N: Not much action in this chapter, I know. This one and the next were originally one, but I split them due to the length.**


	23. Chapter 3: Burning for Revenge

**Burning for Revenge**

* * *

It was Tuesday night, 24 hours before 'do or die' as Markus put it. I just hoped he hadn't been literal about the 'die'… I didn't know why but I could just imagine him saying, _"you know too much, I have to kill you now,"_ if I failed.

The next part of my 'training' was to be taken out for a demo. I felt confident enough with what Ace had shown me so far, but there was a lot more to it than just getting a car open and started. The guys rarely did boosts from Castle Rock and so Chamberlain was the town picked at the flip of a coin. Apparently, Chamberlain was the home town of Ray Brower, the boy Billy and Charlie found in the woods nearly a year earlier. Doing such things in a town which had been through so much recently seemed rough to me, but Ace wouldn't have agreed even if I'd argued the point.

It was around 10.30pm when we drove past the "Welcome to Chamberlain" sign on the outskirts of town in the Lincoln. I'd been feeling fairly relaxed up until that point but as soon as I saw that, my stomach began fluttering as I realized we were nearing the time for action. I glanced over at Ace who was relaxing back in his seat, taking casual sips from his beer bottle. Of course, this was nothing new to him… and besides, Ace is far too sure of himself to ever be nervous.

I'd never been out that way before and so, as we drove the 40 mile distance from Castle Rock I paid careful attention to directions and landmarks. About a mile in from the Welcome Sign was the most memorable of those. A pair of great cast iron gates fronted the local cemetery which was locked up for the night. The ancient looking gates were impressive enough but the pair of stone lion statues, which sat up on pillars at either side, were simply exquisite. I guessed Ray Brower would have been laid to rest beyond those gates. Although, for two gangs who were so eager to find and claim fame off him at one time, I knew not one of them had ever been to visit.

As we hit the town center I realized that Chamberlain was much larger than Castle Rock, and yet apparently Lewiston (which borders with it) was even larger. There's one main street called Summerland Drive which strips down the middle of the town dividing north from south. The street is lined with traffic lights at each intersection, all of which T-off into side streets and eventually branch off into the suburbs. Summerland is plagued with fast-food places, diners and pubs, many of which were still open at that time of night in the middle of the week.

We casually cruised the strip for a while with Ace eyeing up every parking lot and side-street, looking for the area with the most 'potential'. He finally pulled the Lincoln into one of the larger lots which provided parking for seven different stores. The lights were out in the grocery store at the far left and in its neighboring clothing store. In the center was a small pool hall, about the size of Irby's, and there was also Jimmy's Diner and Borris's Burgers; all of which were open and popular hangouts for the town's youth. The other two food restaurants to the right were closed.

The plan was for Ace to show me how it was done while I sat back and took mental notes. We'd find a safe spot for me to observe from and then, once he acquired a vehicle, I'd go back to the Lincoln and we'd be on our way home. Ace said he'd wait for me somewhere along the main highway out of town, but if he couldn't do that for any reason, I'd have to navigate my own way.

Ace parked the Lincoln close to the exit, which was in the far right corner of the parking lot. He then stretched over to the glove box in front of me to pull out a small flathead screwdriver and a pair of black leather gloves. We left the Lincoln unlocked and Ace's warm hand took mine, briskly leading me out towards the left side of the parking lot. The lot was half full with most of the vehicles cluttered together in the center, and a scatter of others surrounding them. An area of bush stripped along the left edge of the lot, conveniently blanketed in darkness. That made a perfect place to crouch in so we wouldn't be seen suspiciously loitering around.

"First thing's first," Ace said in a hushed voice on bended knee, keeping his eyes fixed on the stores. "Do you know why we're on the left side of the parking lot instead of over there on the right?"

"Bushes?" I asked, thinking it a no-brainer.

"No, think about it for a minute. The open stores are all in the middle right? So what happens if we go for one of these cars close to us here?"

"Ah… they won't be able to see what we're doing." Most of the cars were parked with their noses towards the stores and so if we'd been on the right, the driver's side doors would've been exposed.

"Exactly. And you don't have eyes in the back of your head, do you? Always think about the directions people can come from. All we've got behind us here is bush and so we've got our back covered. Someone could come from the road at your side, or from one of the stores and so that's what you need to keep an eye on."

"OK then," I trembled a little, as I wondered if I could really do this when it came my time the next night.

"See that Chevy sittin' there at the end of the line?" He pointed to a dark blue '55 with whitewalls and white fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror. It was in mint condition and so well kept that it gleamed under the streetlights. "That's what I'm gonna go for. It'll have a decent speed and it's in good shape. Don't bring anything back that needs too much work done to it. These things have gotta be in a sellable condition and we don't wanna spend too much time or money gettin' them up to scratch. And another thing; don't get anything sluggish. Anything that can't outrun, or at least keep up with the cops, ain't a good option."

"Have you ever been chased by the cops?" I asked with my stomach slowing crawling up into my throat.

"Yeah, once. But I was just a kid then. And I got away," he smirked as the memory played through his mind.

Fear was beginning to build strongly within me now. This was no longer _talk_. This was really gonna happen. This was far more extreme than any of my previous wrongdoings, and I began to wonder what I'd gotten myself into. This was a _car,_ not a few dollars' worth of miscellaneous items. And this particular car was clearly someone's pride and joy, judging by the condition it was kept in. But not only was the guilt weighing on me, the risk was far greater than anything I'd done before. Sleepy town Castle Rock seemed an easy gig… but this… this was not within my comfort zone.

"And lastly, gas. Always, and I mean always check the gauge as soon as you get power to it. You don't wanna wind up stranded half way to Castle Rock in the middle of the night, anywhere near a car that'll soon be reported missing."

"OK then," I said again, my teeth chattering with my words.

"How long do you think it'd take someone to walk from those stores to that Chev?"

"Twenty seconds, maybe thirty."

"Then that's how long you've got to be driving away with it once you're inside, if you're gonna hotwire it. Cos when you're down there, you can't see shit, so you need to time it right."

"I think I'll just stick to picking…"

"But if you ever find something you can't pick, then you've got a backup plan."

"How did I get myself into this?" I sighed with an uneasy laugh.

"Drop the nerves Cass. A clear head and focus is what's gonna get you through." I glanced at him with a hopeful smile and he draped his arm around my shoulders to give me a comforting squeeze. "You stick to doing things my way and you can't go wrong."

"I know," I nodded, warming into his arm and feeling my nerves dissipate. Again, his reassurance had the _'confidence'_ effect on me.

"Don't come out till I'm out of the parking lot," he said, pulling on the gloves. "I'll wait for you back at the main road." With those words, he crept out of the bushes in a crouch and then stood to casually stroll over to the Chevy. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it banging against the walls of my chest.

Ace took one swift glance towards the row of stores and then fixed his sights on the car as if it were his. He was pretty convincing… I sure wouldn't have suspected he was up to no good; unless I knew who he was of course. He tucked his hand in the pocket of his jeans as if reaching for his keys, but instead pulled out the small screwdriver. He then pushed the tip into the lock and wrenched it with force. I guessed that's what he meant by 'snapping the pins'. After climbing into the driver's seat, he gently closed the door behind him and then disappeared as he bent down to begin working on getting it started.

The adrenaline in my system was really starting to flow now as we'd just past the point of no return. I bit my fist with anticipation as I kept a close eye on the stores, begging that nobody would come out and walk towards our corner of the parking lot.

No more than a few seconds passed before the lights of the Chevy came on. No more than a few seconds after that the car fired up. Ace's head popped up again as he revved the engine a little, before backing out of the park and driving away out towards the exit. I don't know what it is about '55 Chevy's… I just think they're bad ass. And the sound of the V8 was so perfect that my eyes rolled back in pleasure… even my untrained ear could tell how well kept that engine was.

I couldn't help grin with relief when Ace turned onto Summerland Drive, giving the engine a little extra kick for fun. I guessed he appreciated the sound of that pussycat just as much as I did.

"Hey, that's my fucking car!" screamed a voice, shocking me so hard that a cold wave surged up from my belly to my head. My gaze shot towards the row of stores to see two young guys standing frozen to the sidewalk, gaping with wide open mouths. One of them was pointing and stressing to the other at the sight of his taillights making their way up Summerland.

"Holy shit!" yelled the second guy. "Hurry up, we can still catch the asshole!"

"Oh, fuck!" I snappishly surfaced from my hiding place in the bushes, reacting purely on instinct. That clear head and focus seemed to come to me naturally once I was under pressure. The guilt and fear vanished completely and I found myself high on adrenaline, walking ever so briskly across the edge of the parking lot.

I kept a close yet covert eye on the two guys who were sprinting in the opposite direction on the store side of the lot. I thought they would've made the pursuit on foot, but no… they were gonna catch him by car.

The urge to make a beeline for the Lincoln revved through me, but in fear of looking suspicious I kept my cool and stuck to a brisk stride.

"Did you see which way he went?" I heard one of them shout from across the lot behind me.

"Yeah, he's right there, sitting at the lights on Summerland," shouted the other with a hint of suppressed excitement in his voice.

I too could see Ace's tail at the first set of lights on the long strip of main road. All I could hope at that moment was that the many sets of lights further up would be on his side. The guys reached their car fast, faster than I could reach the Lincoln. But I was parked right by the exit whereas they'd have to drive to it from the top-left corner of the lot. I scooted into the seat and swiftly closed the door, firing the engine and reversing out in a 90 degree turn. My original intention was to catch up to Ace myself… but then suddenly… a craftier idea dawned on me.

I killed the engine just in time to be met by a white '54 Ford at my bumper. The way through was two lanes wide, but I cunningly took up both of them with my wide ass, preventing them from getting around me.

"Hey, get the fuck outta the way!" shouted the driver out his window, leaning on the horn.

I stuck my head out and called back asking for sympathy. "My engine just died… I'm trying…"

"That guy's got my car, get the fuck outta the way!" screamed his passenger in panic from the other side.

I could no longer see Ace, but decided to hold them up for as long as possible to make doubly sure he'd gotten away. After a few seconds, I caught sight of the passenger's side door swinging open in my rearview mirror. The irate owner of the Chevy was coming my way. Just as he reached my tail, I fired the ignition again and put my foot on the gas. "Stupid bitch!" he cursed as he saw me edging ahead towards the exit. He then sprinted back to his friend's car and the friend slammed his foot down on the gas before the Chevy owner had even closed the door.

I slowly drove the big beast out onto Summerland with the two guys flying passing me on my left, flipping me the bird and cursing profusely. "Sorry," I mouthed to them through the glass, shrugging like there was nothing else I could have done.

The first two sets of traffic lights were green and I followed the guys at a distance while scanning the area for any sight of Ace. He was still nowhere in view and I gave a small sigh of relief at the thought that he'd made it OK. By my relief was short-lived. The third set of lights went red and the traffic on the road was so light that I was forced to catch up to the '54 Ford and awkwardly park alongside them.

They both glared in at me through the window with menacing stares. It was obvious that the chances of catching the guy who'd stolen their prized possession were now greatly diminished. I looked to the road in front of me, scouting out which direction to turn in while willing the lights to hurry up and turn green again. Meanwhile, I hadn't noticed that the guy who owned the Chevy had got out of his friends car and walked over to mine. My door suddenly made a click and swung open, giving me the shock of my life.

I frowned up at him, getting the best look at him yet. His jet black hair was perfectly slicked back in a ducktail, gleaming under the street lights from his grease overload. His chin protruded out with a wide dimple in the middle and he wore a brown leather jacket with a tan T-shirt and clean blue jeans.

"You realize you just cost me 'bout a thousand bucks back there," he seethed through clenched teeth.

I chose not to answer and reached for the door, pulling it as hard and fast as I could, but he stiffly held it open. I took a hard gulp of guilt and glanced up at him, trying to think of something tactful to say to get him out of my sight.

"Did you just hear what I said bitch?"

"Cost you a thousand dollars? What are you talking about?" I asked innocently.

"Someone stole my car back there and you blocked us from catchin' him. Now my fucking car's gone and we're gonna have to drive 'round for the rest of night looking for the fuckin' thing."

"Well, I'm sorry… but my engine died. I've been having problems with it for a few days now."

To my surprise and distress, he reached down and clamped my chin tightly with his fingers, forcing my face straight to take a good look at me. His despising scowl then turned into a grin so sly it made my stomach turn. "Where you from little girl? I ain't seen you 'round before…"

"Don't fucking touch me," I said harshly, slapping his hand away.

"Why not? You owe me one."

To my horror, he shoved my shoulder hard and tried to force his way into the driver's seat. I went into panic mode and started kicking out hard at his shins and trying to push him back out. He was a pretty big guy and I was no match for his strength, but I did everything I could in hope of making him concede that I wasn't worth the struggle. I punched him in the nose, side of the head and jaw, but my feeble blows didn't do shit – I made a pretty good mess of his hair though. He fended me off at arm's length and managed to slam the door closed, planting his foot on the gas to take us through the lights. I scrambled and fought with him, grabbing the steering wheel and tried to stretch my foot to the break.

"Stop it bitch!" he yelled in frustration, before tightening his fist and bringing back a sharp, solid back elbow which clocked me on my right cheekbone. My head rolled around in a daze and I saw stars, forcing me to give up the fight as I struggled my way back to full consciousness.

A weak moan escaped my lips as I came around, realizing I'd passed out. I found myself lying on my back across the front seat, staring over at the son of a bitch who was still driving and anxiously adjusting the front of his pants. I realized that my fears of his intentions were real and my heart thumped so hard I could feel each pulse pump the blood through my veins. "Let me go," I whimpered. "Keep the car, I don't care. Just let me go… please."

Still dazed from the blow, I struggled to sit up but he placed a hand on my chest, warning me not to. "Fuckin' lie down or I'll lay you out again."

We bumped wildly over what felt and sounded like gravel, before he finally parked up and killed the ignition. I heard another car pull up beside us, which I assumed would be the '54. There was no road noise at all and it was really dark like we were well away from streetlights. Terrified, I flipped myself over and stretched for the door, making a weak break for it. But he grabbed my back jeans pocket and aggressively hauled me towards him, sliding me across the seat rolling me over onto my back again.

"You sure are a feisty one," he grinned cruelly, climbing over top of me. He twisted my arm up underneath my back, jamming it tight, leaving only my right arm free. I wriggled and writhed under him, disgusted with what I knew he was planning to do with me, and desperate to change my fate.

I turned my head away in repulsion as he tried to kiss me, but he didn't waste too much time battling me for foreplay. I heard the zipper on his jeans and he pulled them down past his ass. I then shuddered as I felt his hand move to the zipper on mine.

"You're gonna lie still now aren't you sweetheart?" he breathed intensely into my ear.

"Not on your fucking life." I shoved my free hand down between us and grabbed his balls through his underwear. I squeezed, twisted and pulled on those things until he screamed. I was so panicked and worked up that I suddenly felt like I had the strength of a mountain gorilla. I wanted to detach them from him… I wanted to make them bleed.

"Ahh! You fuckin' bitch!" he backhanded me so hard across the face I saw stars again, but it seemed my efforts were effective. He reached behind him to open the door, desperate to get out there and stand to ease his pain. Leaning bent double against the door of the Lincoln, he stuffed his hands down his underpants, holding his poor sacs and scowling in at me.

"Fuck, are you alright?" I heard his friend call from the car beside us.

But all sense of what was happening around the car was dampened. All I could see was the keys hanging from the ignition and all I could feel was desperation to reach them. I fought off the swirling mass of white and purple constellations and strained to sit up and think straight.

"Don't even think about it," he grunted, knowing full well what I was planning to do. "And don't even try to run." To my dismay, he pulled the keys out and slammed the door, closing me inside.

He stood outside soothing his balls and discussing to do with me with his friend, while I sat shaking in panic, my mind working fiercely to come up with a solution. And then the obvious came to me. _What am I doing? I don't need a fucking key!_

Since I was only planning to watch Ace from the sidelines that night, I'd left my lock picks back at his place. So I stretched to the glove box and thanked my lucky stars to see tools. I ripped one of the screwdrivers out and hurried down low to unscrew the panel covering the ignition. The wires were still cut but wrapped in insulation tape, so I quickly ripped all of them free and desperately crossed them together. First power, then ignition. Once the guy realized what was happening he pulled his hands from his nuts and clicked the door open, but I'd already put the car in reverse. I slammed my foot on the gas, backing out wildly towards the road, watching both guys chase me in the headlights. I threw the car into first and peeled out, my heart pounding so fast I thought I might have a heart attack behind the wheel.

* * *

Tears streamed down my cheeks and I shook in shock as I drove through the streets of Chamberlain, trying to find my way out. My vision was still clouded from the blows and every street looked like the next. I kept a close eye on my rearview mirror in case that jerk was following me in his friend's car, but all I could see was a blur of headlights and streetlights, and so it was difficult to tell. After driving for some time I eventually gave in and pulled over to the side of the road, being sure to lock all the doors in fear of that asshole finding me again – although… now he had the keys.

Slumping forwards onto the steering wheel, I lost all hope and began to bawl over what I'd just been though. And now I was lost and wasn't expecting Ace to come back to find me; driving the Chevy around town would be risking far too much. I touched the right side of my face and my cheek was completely numb and yet extremely painful. My head was thumping and I hated to think what state my face would be in.

_This is gonna get you nowhere… _I finally told myself, trying to buck up the courage to continue on. I took a deep breath and pulled my head in, turning the wheel and checking the way was clear. Then just as I was about to pull out from the curb, I looked across the road and saw the giant cast iron gates with the lion statues on either side. The cemetery… I couldn't believe my luck.

I eagerly continued straight ahead, realizing Ace may no longer be waiting for me, but certain I could find my way home from there if he wasn't. I couldn't tell how long it had been since I saw him leave the parking lot, but I knew it was too long for him to wait on the side of the highway in a stolen car. _What the fuck is he gonna say? _I grimaced, already bracing myself for a lecture.

About a mile further along, Ace's new blue Chevy sat parked on the side of the road. But it wasn't waiting with patience. I pulled up behind it and Ace got out, slamming his door behind him. He stormed in my direction, clearly in a rage, and furiously ripped open my door. "Where the fuck've you been?"

But I ignored his anger and lunged out at him, wrapping my arms low around his waist. I've never been so happy to see him in all my life. "I got held up," I bawled into his chest, feeling myself begin to shake uncontrollably.

He gripped my arms and held me back to look at me. We were in pitch black darkness, but the light from the dash of the Lincoln gave him a clear enough view of the bruises on my face. "What the fuck happened to you?" he asked, his eyes scowling in confusion.

"Let's just go home, please?" I begged, feeling exhaustion kicking in.

"No fucking way, tell me what happened."

"The owner of that thing saw you drive out of the parking lot," I explained. "He and his friend tried to chase you in his friend's car, but I held them up. Then once they realized you'd gotten away, the owner of _that_ jumped me at the lights. He pushed his way into the Lincoln and drove us God knows where, and then tried to…"

"Tried to what?"

"You know!" I yelled at him in frustration.

"He's a fucking dead man." Ace's eyes glazed over as he fixed his sights on revenge. "Did he make any connection between you and the Chev?"

"No, I don't think so."

Ace hastily rushed towards the Chevy with me calling after him. "Ace, you're not really gonna…" But he ignored me and climbed inside, bending to fire the ignition again. He slammed his foot down on the gas and peeled out in a U-turn before racing back in the opposite direction along the highway, his eyes flaming with rage. Even among all the chaos, I surprised myself when I couldn't help bite my swollen lip as I admired how hot Ace looked behind the wheel of that '55 Chev…

Forcing myself to push my stray thoughts aside, I hurried into the Lincoln, swung the big beast around and followed him. He led us straight into town and parked the Chevy in a vacant parking lot, not far from the one he'd swiped it from. He then ran back to where I was waiting, and I moved aside to let him take the wheel.

"Where's the keys?" he asked, noticing I'd pulled the panel off.

"He took them. Looks like your lesson in hotwiring already paid off."

After backing into another vacant parking lot on the opposite side of the road, we found a dark spot to sit in silence, watch and wait for the bait to be taken.

"How do you know he's even looking for it?" I asked.

"He'll be looking for it. Trust me. That was a nice find."

"We don't have to do this you know… taking his car would be revenge enough…"

"Are you fucking crazy? Look at your face." He furiously pulled the sun visor on the passenger's side down in front of me, to reveal a small mirror. It was too dark to see much, so he connected the power wires for a second to light up the dash. I cringed as I saw my reflection. The top of my right cheekbone was swelling dark purple with a wide ring of red surrounding it, and my jaw had bruising from about midway on the bone, leading to a cut on my lip. I've always bruised easily and with the force the guy elbowed and backhanded me with, it was no big surprise. "I'm gonna fuck that motherfucker up Cass. No one hits my girl and lives to remember it."

He disconnected the wires again leaving us in dark silence. Knowing that arguing with Ace when he's in a rage is pointless, I gave up. I sighed heavily and pulled his arm around my shoulders, tucking my head safely into his armpit. But despite what the owner of the Chevy had done to me I still had my reservations about seeing him reduced to a bloody mess, even though he probably deserved it – For all I knew, he may have intended on killing _me_. It didn't matter what I thought though; Ace wasn't about to let the guy off the hook for anything.

* * *

We waited an entire hour and Ace was still just as worked up and absorbed in his intent to kill him as he had been when we arrived.

"I'm tired," I said softly, still nuzzling into him. "Can't we just go home?"

"Hold up… what's this?" Ace straightened his posture and stared attentively through the windscreen. I sat up too, fearfully gripping his T-shirt as we stared out across the road. The red tail lights of a white '54 Ford glowed in the darkness as it pulled into the vacant lot. The owner of the Chevy got out and walked over to it, looking it over for damage. "Fucking Jefferson," Ace said with a gritty laugh.

"What… you know him?" I gasped.

"Yeah. Kyle Jefferson. He used to live out our way not long back. Wanted in as a Cobra, but I told him to go fuck himself 'cos I didn't like him. So he formed his own little gang out this way instead. They've threatened to take us on a couple times, but they're all talk. Bunch of fucking homos."

Kyle opened the driver's side door and inspected the interior. "It's been hotwired," he called to his friend who just shrugged uselessly at him. The Chevy then fired up and his friend climbed back into his own car. The two of them then pulled out of the parking lot and began driving up Summerland.

Before I could say, "They're getting away," Ace fired the ignition and slowly pulled out of the lot still burning for revenge. Pummeling him there and then wouldn't have been smart. For one thing, there were two of them and also, Ace didn't want them to realize we'd been using the car as bait and eventually put two and two together.

We followed them at a distance with Ace gritting his teeth and gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were turning white. The two cars finally pulled up side by side at the lights and Kyle's friend stretched through his car to shake his hand through the window as they said their goodbyes for the night. The white '54 then took a left around the corner while Kyle's unsuspecting '55 took a right. We continued to hang back from his tail, keeping him blissfully unaware of our presence as we followed him through the suburban streets. The Chevy finally took a right into a driveway and Ace pulled the Lincoln up to the curb, right outside the house. I began to feel sick knowing what was coming.

"Stay here and lock the doors," Ace said before getting out and closing the door quietly behind him.

I did as he asked and tensely peered through the glass, my stomach contorting into knots. Ace strolled up the driveway and my heart skipped a beat as I saw him reach into his back pocket, pull out his switchblade and flick it out beside him at waist level. Then just as Kyle opened his door, still unaware he had a visitor, Ace bent down and plunged the blade into his rear tire.

"What the fuck?" Kyle gasped in surprise as Ace ripped his blade through the tire, slashing it open wide. "Ace? What's this all about?" he asked anxiously, stumbling to his feet. I wondered if his balls were still sore.

"Recognize that?" Ace gestured behind him.

Kyle glanced behind Ace and did a double take as he recognized the Lincoln and saw me peering through the window. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped an inch as he came to understand just what kind of severe shit he was in.

"That was her fault," he said, a poor attempt at weaseling his way out of it. "Someone tried to steal my car and she blocked the fuckin' way!"

"That was a stupid move Kyle. There ain't no excuse good enough for trying to rape my girlfriend." Ace then slowly raised his switchblade, pointing it straight upwards before aiming the razor sharp tip straight at Kyle. "You're dead."

"Well, don't think I ain't gonna put up a fight," Kyle glared at Ace, fumbling in his back pocket for his own switchblade, before flicking it open.

The two began to circle each other and I winced as Ace made the first swipe. If there's one weapon I hate, its knives. Not just because of the time Lewis slit my arm open with one, I've always felt that way… I can't help but shudder at the thought of the damage they can do. Kyle then made a close swipe at Ace making him jump back to dodge it. I closed my eyes and sunk my head for a moment; the two of them going at it was too unbearable for me to watch.

But the tinkering sound of a knife dropping to the ground immediately made me snap my head back up again. Ace had lost his blade and both his hands were now gripped around Kyle's clenched fist as he struggled to make him drop his. Kyle began repeatedly punching Ace in the face with his free hand, but Ace swiftly pulled Kyle's wrist towards the open door of the '55. Kyle was a strong guy, but he struggled to match the strength of Ace in a rage. Ace managed to wedge Kyle's clenched fist between the door and the pillar and then lent in hard on the door, crushing it severely.

Kyle grunted in pain, and there was another tinkering sound as he regrettably dropped his blade to the ground. Ace kicked it behind him and then kneed Kyle in the stomach before right-hooking him in the nose. I don't know what it is about Ace right-hooks, but Kyle's nose gushed with blood in just the same way Lewis's had. Ace had only hit him once, but Kyle's face was already a mess.

Kyle grabbed Ace and pulled him in close, landing some successful knees to the stomach before Ace did a running dive on him, making a terrible racket as he piled him into the garage door. He then viciously back elbowed Kyle's head against the garage repeatedly, making his head bounce back like a basketball. He only stopped when Kyle went limp and fell to the ground to lay at Ace's mercy. All I could see from my distance was Kyle's messed up greasy black hair and his face covered in blood. And he wasn't moving. Ace took a few steps backwards and picked up his switchblade, holding it out at his side as he prepared to make his final mark.

"That'll do boy," said a stern voice. I'd been so scared and fixated on watching the fight that I hadn't seen a middle aged man appear at the top of the stairway near them. He looked like he'd just jumped out of bed, wearing boxer shorts and a white singlet, and he held a double barrel shotgun pointed right at Ace's head.

Ace immediately halted and slowly lowered the knife. "He beat my girl, so now I'm just here to return the favor," Ace said callously, yet cautiously.

"That'll do," the man repeated. "Now be away with ya. Or I'll blow your fucking head off!"

Ace didn't need to be told twice. He slowly backed away, inch by inch, not taking one eye off that shotgun. I took the hint and fired up the engine, opening the door for him to reluctantly slip inside. He furiously threw the switchblade on the dash, before planting his foot down hard on the gas.

I didn't say a word to him the whole way home. He mysteriously parked up in Chamberlain and made a phone call at a phone booth, but still, I didn't ask why and I didn't say a word. He still had that glaze over his eyes and I knew not to mess with his mood. He'd calm down… eventually. The best thing for me to do was sit there and let him diffuse himself, otherwise I'd risk making things worse.

I felt exhausted, upset, and I blamed myself for what happened. It was quite possible that Ace could've got away without me interfering… but then again, what if he couldn't have? Either way, the end result wasn't worth what either of us went through that night.

Ace shook me and I jolted awake to find that we were parked up in the Lincoln at Markus's place. "Time to go," he said, taking my hand to help me out. "Got anything you need in there?"

"No… why?"

Vince's Studebaker was parked up behind us, with Vince leaning against the hood. I saw him notice the bruises on my face, but immediately looked away as if he hadn't seen a thing. That seemed strange to me; Vince would usually see it as a great opportunity to crack fun… but he kept his lips sealed.

"Get in Vince's car. I'm gonna park this up around the back."

The Lincoln had been seen; it would be no good to us now. After going into the garage for a new ignition system and a final spruce up, it was destined to be put on a used car lot somewhere and sold off to some unsuspecting buyer who will never know what escapades that car had been on.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :D Love writing the chapters with a bit of action in there haha.**


	24. Chapter 4: Secret of Success

**Secret of Success**

_Note: The city of Lewiston is not intended to be a true representation of the 'actual' real life town. I'm just using the name like they did in the book, so please don't be offended if you live there; there's sure to be plenty of inconsistencies. See my profile for more on the geography of this story :)_

* * *

"Why do these things always happen to me?" I asked Ace bitterly, as I gently prodded my swollen cheekbone and jaw in the bathroom mirror. We'd just woken from a long slumber that lasted half the day, and Ace had strolled in behind me in his underwear, pinching my ass before turning on the shower. The night before had completely drained us, so much that after climbing into bed at 3 am we went straight to sleep… and that's really saying something. "I'm not gonna be able to leave the house for the next week with my face looking like this."

"It coulda been worse," he replied, dropping his duds before stepping under the steamy water. "He coulda knifed you."

"You're really good at looking on the bright side when it counts," I said, my words fading as I tilted my head to take a sneak peek of his ass through the crack in the shower curtain. _And you're just really good looking…_ I chuckled to myself.

"What are you giggling at?" he eyed me knowingly over his shoulder.

"Oh… nothing," I sighed.

"Well if you're feelin' like that, come on in."

_Maybe I should get hurt more often,_ I thought to myself as Ace's soapy hands slid up my back. He always seemed to go soft every time something like this happened; first when Lewis slit the gash in my arm, and now when some abusive bastard gives my face a makeover. I guess that's why it was so hard to take when people began to make the wrong assumptions…

* * *

That night, I rang Keith and asked him to visit earlier than usual because Markus was expecting us to be at his place no later than ten. I'd picked up the goods for him earlier than usual too, but Carl wasn't there so I had to deal with one of his minions instead. Ace never gave me back the bag he stole (and I'll swear to this day that he had it all for himself) so I'd been hoping to score some from Carl on the sly. But the guy I had to purchase off was strict and would only sell me what I'd ordered. So, reluctantly I'd have to ask Keith instead, and I already knew I was gonna face resistance from him. Ace wouldn't be happy about it either, but if he still expected me to go out there and do this thing after everything I'd been through the night before, then he'd just have to understand.

At around 9:30 I began to get really anxious for it. There I was, impatiently pacing around the kitchen staring at a quarter kilo of the shit and not even being allowed to open it.

"Hurry up Keith," I stressed – and not because we were short on time.

"He'd better get here soon," Ace warned as he relaxed back on the couch with the latest edition of _Hod Rod_ magazine in one hand, beer in the other. "Or we're outta here anyway."

Not a second later, my attention was drawn to the rumble of Keith's metallic blue '32 Deuce as it rolled down the drive. I rushed to the doorway and gave him a restless wave as he killed the rowdy engine before hurrying up to see me.

"Sorry I'm late. I ah… had to take care of a few things." He leaned in the doorway seeming a little flustered compared to his usual cool demeanor, and I just put it down to me rushing him off his feet.

"That's OK," I grinned. "Thanks for coming early."

As soon as he laid eyes on the bruises on my face, his expression abruptly became daunt. I'd been so focused on getting into that bag that I'd forgotten about them and hadn't thought to consider his reaction. He took a sneaking glance behind me into the lounge and saw that Ace was close by, so he bent down slightly to whisper his concerns into my ear. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yeah. Everything's fine. I just had a rough night last night. Listen… would I be able to get some off you?"

"Cass, you can't let him do this to you," he whispered again in earnest, so low I had to lip read half of it.

Knowing myself that Ace had nothing to do with it, I was taken aback at the notion and thrown a little off balance. "It wasn't Ace if that's what you're thinking."

"Oh really? Who was it then?" he whispered rather angrily, seemingly annoyed by my attempt to cover Ace's ass. "Or did you just slip and fall when you were pissed? That's what they all say."

"It wasn't him OK? It was some guy in Chamberlain."

The stern look in his eyes showed no sign of loosening, and I began to feel rather annoyed myself. Not only was he accusing Ace of something he didn't do, he was also asserting that I was weak enough to let someone control me like that.

"You let him get away with it once and next thing you know he's doin' it all the time."

"Will you two hurry the fuck up?" Ace said arrogantly, strolling into the kitchen and tossing his bottle in the trash. "We've got shit to do."

I stepped back away from Keith, disbelieving what I'd heard him say but conceding that now wasn't the time to fix it. I wandered around to the other side of the kitchen table with Keith stepping in and closing the door behind him, staring Ace down with contempt.

"Money," I said resentfully, holding out my hand.

Keith pulled a wad of cash from the pocket of his leather jacket and handed it to me, and I counted out a couple of hundred to hand back.

"What's this for?" he sighed, running a hand through his short hair, knowing very well what it was for.

"You know what."

"Not tonight," Ace said firmly, picking up the bag and throwing it to Keith.

"Guys, just stop trying to mother me OK?" I said irritably, having already foreseen the resistance.

"You're not getting any, so just drop it," Ace said again, his eyes firm and serious.

"And why the fuck not?"

"Because you're gonna fuck yourself up, that's why!" Ace suddenly exploded like he'd been holding out on telling me that for days. "You can't just have a little bit here, little bit there. You've gotta have a hundred bucks worth in one fucking afternoon!"

"Well what do you expect me to do tonight, huh?" I screamed back, determined to get my way. "You don't know what I really went through last night, with that psycho trying to have his way with me. And you expect me to just get over it, go out alone in the middle of the night in some random town and risk it happening all over again?"

Although I hadn't given specifics, it was still way too much to be said in front of Keith. Ace's eyes suddenly flipped from firm to blazing and he hastily lashed out a strict finger towards me. "You shut your fucking mouth right now."

"Woah… Ace," Keith said, defensively raising his hands. "Come on man, this ain't right." I'm sure he thought Ace was about to whack me right there in front of him.

Ace's rigid glare then turned on Keith, so slow and so unpredictable that any normal person would've taken the hint to get out of there without him needing to utter a word. "She's my girlfriend, not yours, so why don't you just take your shit and fuck off?"

But Keith didn't move a muscle and his distrusting glare darted edgily between Ace and I. It was good of him to be concerned about leaving me with Ace in a foul mood, but I knew it wasn't necessary.

"It's OK Keith, just go." I swallowed hard, knowing darn well that I'd overstepped the mark by saying those things with him in the room. Now he'd be asking questions; lots of them.

"Are you gonna be alright?"

"Of course I am," I pouted, slumping down in one of the kitchen chairs. I was kinda embarrassed to have Ace blow up in my face right in front of Keith, after all my words of assurance that he was good to me. But I was actually OK with the lecture; I can handle Ace yelling at me - especially since he kinda had to, to shut me up. It sure wouldn't have looked good to Keith though, and for that reason, I couldn't look at him; I just wanted him to hurry up and leave.

Without another word, the door opened and Keith walked out, closing it quietly behind him. I was disappointed to watch my chances for the week walk out the door, but it's not worth messing with Ace's mood for anything.

"You opened your mouth far too much just then Cass," Ace said sternly.

"I know, I'm sorry. But I'm just feeling a little on edge right now OK? After what happened last night, I don't know if I'm gonna be capable of going out there on my own tonight."

"You won't be on your own stupid. I'll be with you. You really think I'd send you out there alone on your first time?" Then after a deep breath he muttered, "Especially after what happened last night."

"Oh… OK," I quietly muttered back, feeling humbled to hear that. "But I still don't know if I'm up for this. My mind's everywhere. I'm scared I'm gonna fuck things up."

"Well, you do realize if you don't come out with us tonight then it's game over," he said seriously, leaning back against one of the benches with his arms folded tight. "We can't have you wimping out every other night – we just ain't got the time or the patience to piss around. It's all or nothin' baby."

"I'm not wimping out, I just…" I started to protest, cutting my own sentence short as I realized that's exactly what I was doing.

"Come here," he sighed, beckoning me with two fingers. I heaved a sigh of my own and went to him, dipping my arms low around his waist and gazing wearily into his eyes. He seemed to have calmed down and so I waited for words of soft sympathy and encouragement. But instead I got a much needed kick up the ass. He cupped my face in my hands and gave it to me straight. "Stop being a fucking pussy."

Why that word has such a strong effect on me, I think I'll never truly know. Every time it's aimed my way, my brain immediately objects to it and suddenly I'd have the nerve to do a train dodge if anyone dared me. It abruptly turns my viewpoint on its head and makes me throw caution to the wind like nothing else ever could. It gets me riled and Ace knows it.

"You know just when to play that card don't you?" I said contemptuously.

"And did it work?"

"Let's go," I grumbled, patting my back pocket to check I had my lock picks on me. A strong feeling of certainty came over me that Markus, Vince and Eyeball would soon learn that I'm just as capable of doing this as any of them. Ace on the other hand, already knew I had it in me… and he also knew how to bring it out.

* * *

Ace and I pulled up at Markus's place ten minutes late and Ace gave me a firm warning that he'd probably be in a shitty mood because of it. He doesn't like tardiness; time is money in his eyes. So, I wasn't off to a good start but I was still determined to make Markus see that he hadn't made the wrong decision in giving me a shot.

"Bout time," Markus said, impatiently pacing as Ace and I entered his trailer. "We were just about to leave without you."

Vince's brow lowered in uncertainty and Eyeball's rose in surprise when they saw me stroll in after Ace. Neither of them had yet been told that I was wise to their new little business venture.

Eyeball's surprise wasn't just for the unexpected company though; part of it was a reaction to the bruising on my face. But like Vince the night before, his look of shock was quickly hidden and his eyes wandered away as if everything was just fine. Seeing that began to make me wonder if he and Vince were both making the same assumptions as Keith. But why did everyone think it was Ace's doing? If I knew him well enough to know he'd never lay a hand on me, why would they just automatically assume that he had? They should all know him far better than I…

"What's she doing here?" Vince asked hesitantly. But after seeing Ace pull me out to rip off the liquor store that time, I think he would've had a hunch for the answer.

"Well, our buyers like what we're giving them," Markus began, "and they've asked for more. So Ace is gonna start spending more time workin' on the cars with me, so we need someone to replace him out there. Ace seems to think she's got what it takes and so I'm willing to give her a chance." Markus's voice then became super serious as he glared hard at me, making sure I was listening up. "Remember, you've got one chance only. You put one foot outta line and you're out."

"Well that shouldn't take long," mumbled Vince.

"God you're immature Vince," I mumbled back.

"Hey, I'd even put money on you fuckin' up."

"Oh you would huh?"

"Cut it out you two," Markus said sternly to break it up. "If I hear any more of that immature bickering around here I'll throw you _both_ out. We're here to work and make money. If you two wanna argue, do it on your own time, not mine. Got it?"

Vince and I both shut up like books and gazed bitterly, and perhaps a little childishly, in opposite directions.

"And another thing," Markus continued. "We're lookin' at gettin' six cars a week done instead of three, so you guys need to start goin' out twice a week instead of once. Right, the garage is clear and the car's parked out front. Let's get a move on." As Markus strode towards the front door, past Ace and I, he eyed me with uncertainty like he was unsure if he was doing the right thing or not. So I replied with a grin of determination.

We all piled into Markus's white, four door '57 Buick, with him taking the wheel and Ace riding shotgun. I had to squash in between Eyeball and Vince in the back, which neither Vince nor I were happy about, but it did give us a chance to tie up one loose end from our earlier 'conversation'.

"Ten bucks says you can't get a car back to that garage tonight without fuckin' up," Vince whispered, leaning in close to my ear so as not to be overheard by the other guys... especially Markus.

"Ten measly dollars?" I snickered quietly back, before giving him a daring grin. "Hundred." I thought he'd think that was too much and try to lower it, leaving me looking like the gutsier one, but it didn't quite work out like that. This is Vince after all…

"Fuck, you're on," he sniggered, firmly bumping my shoulder with his. He thought he had this in the bag.

_What a douche_, I laughed to myself. A hundred was a lot to risk, but it's not like I had any chance of failing this time; Ace was gonna be with me.

The guys flipped a coin and the city chosen happened to be Lewiston (or Lewiston-Auburn), the second largest town in the state after Portland. Lewiston is south of Castle Rock and the train tracks which Chris and his friends followed to find Ray Brower runs straight through both towns. A river separates the twin cities Lewiston and Auburn, each which are working man's towns by day and one big teen playground by night. The streets are 80% department stores and fast-food restaurants, but there's also a couple of popular drive-in diners, dance halls, movie theatres and there's even a drive-in movie theatre where kids go to do everything except watch movies…

But it's the cars and the swagger that creates the atmosphere, and anyone under 25 can't help being drawn to it… unless you're square or something. Guys, girls, boss cars, hot rods, drag races in the streets, cars full of girls cruising the strip looking for a good time, and cars full of guys looking to get laid. Having lived in Portland since I was a kid, I'd travelled up to Lewiston many times to bask in it all. But now, I felt like I'd been there, done that and no longer cared much for any of it. Well… except for the drag races. Even being a chick, I can never get enough of the exhilaration that comes from a side by side blast of testosterone fueled thrills; whether I'm in the car impishly checking out the hot guy I somehow managed to score, or closing my eyes and feeling the power from the sidelines. Anyway, I'm rambling…

Eyeball was very insistent on being dropped off in Auburn, but I didn't think much of it at the time. I bet the other guys all knew why though, but because I was there they kept it zipped instead of hooting and cheering him on like typical guys always do. Once he was out, we drove over the bridge to cross the river into Lewiston. But instead of driving through the heart of the city, Markus opted to skim the edge instead. Vince was dropped off next, but not before cockily jabbing me in the ribs saying he'd pick up his winnings from me tomorrow. _Fat chance of that._ Ace and I were dropped last, right on the south edge of the city center before Markus headed back to Castle Rock. I guess being dropped off and left stranded works as its own little incentive to take action. Because if you don't… you're walking home. Originally, I'd been hoping for a smaller, quieter town for my first go, but after Ace pointed out I was being gutless I _wanted_ to be thrown in the deep end just so the guys wouldn't think I'd been let off easy.

"There's a lot of good finds in this town," Ace said as he slid a hand around my lower back before slipping it into my back jeans pocket. "The larger towns are where the money rolls."

"Yeah, I used to come up here with friends fairly often a couple of years ago," I replied, slipping a hand into his.

We casually walked towards the city center as if we were just out for an innocent stroll. But really, we were eyeing up and weighing up every possible target, looking for decent options to shoot for. There was plenty of choice, with cars parked in driveways or out on the street, used car lots dotted in every direction, and there was even a huge hospital parking lot when we neared closer to the city center.

"What do you think about in there?" Ace asked as we passed the hospital.

"Well, there's a lot of people coming and going all the time in hospitals. And at this time of night, past visiting hours, if you're not wearing a white coat or some kind of ID then they might start asking questions."

"I'd say that's a good call," he commended as we strolled on by. "Always listen to your instincts," he'd say. "Cos you can almost guarantee they'll be screaming at you when you're about to do something stupid." Well, funnily enough, my instincts hadn't stopped screaming at me since we'd been dropped off…

But even though my gut feeling was trying to hold me back, my determination to prove myself was driving me forwards. All I could think about was Ace calling me a 'pussy' which completely muted any feelings of fear, nerves or guilt for what I was about to do. The tactic worked really well for Ace in getting me out there, but there's a downside to putting me in that frame of mind. It tends to make me a bit reckless and I don't always think things through as well as I would when I'm not bitterly trying to prove a point.

As we grew nearer to the inner city, I was aware that the risks were quickly increasing. More people, more cops, but also, the more mouthwatering the selection became. Feeling in that reckless state of mind, I decided the tradeoff between risk and pulling off something good was worth going for all the way. But in the end, it seemed we didn't need to venture too much further.

A couple of streets in, we passed a high school which seemed to be hosting a school dance. Loud music from a live band poured out of every crack and window of the main hall, with the sounds of saxophones, stand-up bass and guitar covering "Rock around the clock". Nicely seated within the center of the parking lot out front, a really hot looking older style car caught my eye, and I just knew that was the one to go for.

As with the previous night, I found myself acting purely on instinct, with the clear head and focus coming to me as if I'd suddenly become possessed. I grabbed Ace's arm and pulled him in through the wide open gates, before leading him across the parking lot towards a big elm tree planted to the far left which provided good shadow to shroud us.

The school was laid out with a two-story brick hall placed symmetrically in the center of a huge block of land, with the parking lot out front. The rest of the buildings and classrooms were behind that, out of our sight, and the entire perimeter of the school was bordered with an 8 foot high chain link fence. The risk was that there was only one way in, one way out, but I thought if we hurried then we could get it done and be out of there even before the band started the next song.

"You gonna go for something here?" Ace asked, the adrenaline already apparent in his eyes.

"What do you think about that red car over there?" I asked pointing to the car I'd seen from the road, which was clearly the hottest thing in the parking lot. It was a gleaming red two door with whitewalls, the split windscreen, and an ass to die for. I wanted to deliver something to Markus that would impress and I grinned to think I couldn't go wrong with this one.

"That's a '38 Ford coupe. Poor bastard's gonna miss that," he smirked.

"Naw… why did you have to say it like that for? Now I feel terrible."

"This game ain't for soft-cocks Cass. If you think you ain't got the sac, then you may as well fuck off home."

"Oh yeah?" I scoffed. That just added more fuel to the engine which was already making me edge forwards, raring to go like a dragster sitting at the starting line. Except I didn't wait for the green light…

"Hey, wait a sec," Ace called as I impatiently slipped out from the shadows. "Don't forget to check your gas."

"Yeah, I know!" I hastily whispered back.

As I reached the gleaming red beauty in the dead center of the parking lot, I took a glance towards the hall. Through the huge doorway I could clearly see everyone inside bopping the night away, dressed in their suits and poodle skirts. I shuddered at the realization of just how easy it would be for someone to glance out and see me, but I wasn't about to wimp out now. Not with Ace watching. I suddenly felt the adrenaline kick in like someone had opened the flood gates in my adrenal glands as I committed to the job. _Stay calm and be super quick,_ I encouraged myself.

The car was even more beautiful up close, but I didn't waste time goggling. I tucked a gloved hand into my back pocket and pulled out my tension wrench and pick before sticking them both in the keyhole. I'm not sure how long it took to pick it, but it was fast, and I could feel Ace beaming at me from behind as I swiftly pulled the door open. I slipped into the incredibly comfortable leather interior, and stuck my tools into the ignition. I had a bit of trouble with that one, but finally felt my tension wrench turn.

"Ha-ha!" I cried aloud with joy as I heard the starter fire. But the happiness was short lived. That V8 didn't purr like a pussycat; not in the slightest. It fuckin' roared like a lion, so loud that my heart leapt into my throat. But it was too late to abandon it, so my only option was to get the fuck out of there fast. I desperately threw it into reverse and backed out, then threw it into first and slammed my foot down hard. But throwing my foot down like that was probably the wrong thing to do… "Fuck, this baby's loud!" I winced, imagining people streaming out of the doorway behind me to see what was going on. I was too scared to look in my rear-view mirror to see for sure though… I decided that I'd rather not know.

At least I had one good thing going for me; I knew the streets in that town like I'd lived there. If the guys had decided on Chamberlain again, or one of the other towns up in that area, I probably would've been panicking because I've never been to any of them. The car was probably well known in this town and so I skimmed around the edge before taking a tense ride over the well-travelled bridge, through Auburn and out into the country. I heaved a sigh of relief as I finally felt like the hard part was over and now I just had to get this baby back. A grin formed as I took a small moment to bask in my accomplishment – this car would be hard for the other guys to top. God I loved the sound of that engine - I'd put my foot on the gas just a tiny bit, giving it a quick burst every now and then, and feel shivers run up my spine. For a moment there I wished the journey would never end and laughed at the thought of taking it for a joy ride somewhere… well, dreams are free. I may have been sitting on cloud nine and feeling extremely smug, but I wasn't that cocky.

The "15 miles to Castle Rock" sign flew past and I beamed with excitement as I pictured driving this new beauty into the garage and collecting my 100 well-earned winnings from Vince. _Haha… he's gonna be pissed! _ I laughed_. See! Told you I wouldn't fuck up!_ And then, as if karma heard me loud and clear, the engine began to spit and cough. I frowned down at the dashboard, not clicking onto what was wrong at first. "Don't die on me now!" I begged, beginning to severely worry that I'd have to look under the hood without a clue what I was doing. And then, I realized the problem. "You fucking idiot!" I cursed, slapping myself on the forehead with a passion. After being so arrogant and cursing Ace for patronizing me… I'd forgotten to check the gas.

* * *

Ten miles… ten fucking miles. That's how far away Castle Rock was from where my beautiful prize finally choked out and came to rest on the side of the road. Clutching the steering wheel with both hands I let my head flop down hard onto it as I weighed up my options. I was inclined to stay and wait for Ace to come along, but I could hear his words from the other night ring clear in my head. _"You don't _wanna _wind up stranded half way to Castle Rock in the middle of the night, anywhere near a car that'll soon be reported missing."_ _Fuck. I wonder how long he's gonna be? _In the end I decided to wait a little while because even if I left, it would still be risky for anyone to see the car and then me, further down the road.

Five minutes felt like five hours as I paced back and forth, anxiously waiting to be rescued. How embarrassing. My heart began to pound at the thought of Ace driving past and seeing my bright red beast parked up on the side of the road. Either he'd laugh, or he'd be pissed, or maybe both. But one thing was for sure; he'd be driving that _'Don't forget to check the gas_' rule into me from now on like a stake in the ground. After the five minutes of working myself up into a frenzy, I noticed a set of headlights coming towards me in the distance.

"Please be one of the guys," I begged. Vince and Eyeball could still be coming too and out of all three of them… boy I was praying for it to be Eyeball. But no. When does anything ever go right for me?

"Aha-ha-ha!" Vince cackled as he rolled up beside me in a brand new Dodge, winding down his window. "What the fuck are you doin' O'Connor?"

"Nothing. Just carry on," I mumbled without making eye contact. At that moment I was suddenly willing to take the risk in waiting for Ace. Even if he was an hour away I wouldn't have cared. Anything would've been better than admitting to Vince that I'd fucked up.

"Come on, what is it? Engine troubles?"

"No," I said with a heaved sigh. "I'm fine."

"So what? You run outta gas or somethin'?"

I didn't answer and booted his front tire in frustration. He took that as a "yes".

"What did I tell you, huh? What did I fuckin' tell you? I said it wouldn't take you long to fuck up. Was I right or was I right?"

"Fine, asshole," I reluctantly muttered, clenching my fists. "You win. You get your hundred bucks. Now can you help me get the fuck outta this or what?"

"Well I ain't got none spare. Maybe you'll just have to push it back to Markus's," he laughed.

"Vince come on, we got no time to fuck around. What if a cop comes along? You know Ace'll be fucked off if that happens and he found out you could've helped me…"

That reasoning seemed to hit a nerve because he suddenly became serious and snapped into action. "I'll check in the boot," he said climbing out of his vehicle. "There might be a tow rope or something. But if there's nothin' useful in there I'm just gonna have to take you back to Markus's place and Ace can come pick this up later." He moved to the rear of his vehicle and went to pull open the boot, but then realized it was locked.

"I can take care of that," I said moving swiftly towards his boot and whipping out my lock picks. I picked it open and I saw a smirk of impression on his face, but he quickly wiped it off.

"I coulda just done that with a screwdriver you know…"

"Whatever," I sighed, moving to pick the lock on my boot too.

After getting both of them open, I was pleased to find a tow rope in mine, but intriguingly he went for the garden hose in his instead. "This'll do the trick," he said confidently, taking his knife and cutting it a good length. I didn't know why on earth he'd pick a garden hose over a tow rope, but I was about to learn that Vince isn't as stupid as I liked to think.

He spun the Dodge around and backed it up to my coupe so our left rear fenders, which had the gas plugs, were in close range. Then he pushed one end of the hose down into his gas tank and put the other end between his lips to suck the fuel through. Just as it reached the top, he quickly shoved it into my tank to let it drain out of his.

"Wow, that's clever," I blurted before I could bite it back.

Vince just stared at me in surprise; for one, he couldn't believe I'd just complimented him, and for two, he couldn't believe I didn't even know how to syphon gas.

_Dammit. _I thought to myself._ Why did you have to say that? All that's gonna do is increase the size of his already overinflated head._ But in truth, it was a clever trick and it worked like a charm.

"That should get you back." He pulled the hose out at his end, let the rest drain into my tank and then threw the hose away on the grass. He made a move towards his own car, but I grabbed his shoulder to stop him as a sudden idea switched on in my head like a light bulb.

"Vince, do you think we could keep this between you and me?"

"You're asking me to keep something from Ace, for you?"

"Well, at least from Markus? Because… look, I know I fucked up tonight and I admit it. But, Markus ain't gonna give me a second chance and if that happens Ace is gonna be furious!"

"What have you ever done for me?" he shrugged like he really couldn't care less. I took a hard gulp as he climbed into his Dodge, ignoring my request. _Well, it was worth a try._ I reassured myself. _ My name's gonna be mud anyway; it's not like I had anything to lose._

He drove off first with me following close behind the whole way. Markus wasn't at the trailer when we arrived but the garage was open and so we both backed our new finds into the darkness. Vince led me through the pitch-black garage and into the trailer part, switched on the lights and went straight for the fridge. He grabbed a beer and I instinctively followed, each of us popping the tops off with the bottle opener that was conveniently sitting on top of the fridge. We each took a couch and sipped our beers, but neither of us were relaxed. I was stressing out as I tried to accept my inevitable fate, and I noticed Vince was peeling the label off his beer bottle, fidgeting intensely like something serious was playing on his mind.

"Why do you wanna do this so badly O'Connor? This ain't exactly chicks stuff," he finally said.

"Well, stacks of reasons. Money… and Ace being the main ones. I don't wanna disappoint him."

"Is that all? Cos I get the feeling like you're doin' it 'cos you've got somethin' to prove."

"To be honest… I can't say you're wrong there. You guys all seem to think I'm next to useless, but I'm telling you I'm a lot more capable than you think. Ace knows it, and if he didn't you can bet your bottom dollar I wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation with you right now. I dunno, maybe I wanna prove him right just as much as I wanna prove the rest of you guys wrong."

"Well, we've all heard you're not completely useless," he laughed, unable to pass up the opportunity to embarrass and insult me. "Apparently you're incredible at givin' head. So why don't you just stick to what you know? Ha-ha."

"What?" I choked, blushing hard. "Ace fucking _told_ you that? Is nothing sacred?" I couldn't make up my mind on who to be pissed off with first. Ace for talking about me like that to his friends, or Vince for relaying it to me. In the end I threw up my hands in surrender. "You know what? I give up. You guys can _all_ go get fucked, really. I'm outta here."

"Cass, hang on a second," he said, grabbing my sleeve, his laugh calming again. "I'll do it. I'll keep it quiet."

"Oh. Shit. Really?" I asked stunned, humbly taking the seat next to him on his sofa.

"Yeah. Markus ain't one for second chances, but… maybe you're worth another shot."

"Oh. Wow… Thanks Vince."

"But you owe me one. Keeping shit from Ace is a fucking big deal you know that right?"

"Well we don't have to keep it from Ace, just Markus. And Eyeball… the less that know the better really."

"Alright. This is a one off though, so you better do good next time…"

"Yeah, for sure. Gee, thanks Vince I owe you big time," I beamed, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders.

"Too fuckin' right. So ah… you're friends with Natalie right?"

"What?" I blurted out, startled at hearing the name come out of nowhere. It sounded to me like he was already about to cash in on the owed favor… "Well, I've only met her once, but yeah… we seem to get on OK, why?"

"I need you to find something out for me."

"OK…" I hesitantly agreed. I should've known with Vince there'd be a catch.

"Find out how long I'm gonna have to wait before she lets me pop her cherry."

"Vince!" I exclaimed, shocked and wide-eyed at his brazenness.

"What? I wanna know!"

"Is that all guys think about?"

"Hey, I haven't been laid in like two fuckin' months. You bet that's all I think about."

"Well," I grinned slyly, seeing an opportunity to get one back on his embarrassing comment from before. "You know there are other ways to take the stress off," I cracked into a laugh.

"Fuck you Cass. So can you find out for me or not? You say no and the deal's off."

"Oh, I see. So there was an ulterior motive all along…"

"Are you gonna fuckin' do it or not?"

"How the hell do you expect me to find that out? Just come out and ask her? She's your girlfriend, isn't this something _you_ should be asking her?"

"Are you kidding? If I ask her somethin' like that I'll probably scare her away. She won't even let me feel her tits for fucks sake. You on the other hand, you're a chick and chicks talk about shit like this."

"Well, what did you think it was gonna be like going with a Catholic girl?"

"But she keeps saying she don't believe all that stuff. She told me that right from the start, so I thought I was in."

"And how long have you been with her for?"

"Couple weeks."

"Fucking hell… have a little bit of patience…"

"Hey, I can wait till she's ready if it's gonna be sometime soon. But if you tell me I'm gonna have to wait more than a couple months, or if she don't know how long it's gonna be, or if she says she ain't puttin' out 'til she's married… then fuck that. I ain't wastin' no more time with her."

"That's a bit cold isn't it? Relationships aren't all about sex you know…"

"Oh yeah? And here was me beginning to think you might actually have a brain in there."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Face it Cass, if you didn't put out for Ace as much as you do, do you really think he'd keep you around?"

I almost slapped him. I actually visualized raising my hand and forcefully bringing it to land on the side of his face to leave a huge red hand mark. But at the same time, I knew he was probably right. People can say that sex isn't all that important in a relationship, but… it is. Especially when it comes to guys like Ace whose libido's soaring 24/7. Saying that… so is mine. Maybe _that's_ the reason why we get along so well…

"Vince, you're an asshole. You know that? Natalie's a really nice girl and she deserves better than this."

He knocked back the last sixth of his beer and belched proudly as he stood to throw the bottle in the kitchen trashcan. "I'm outta here. And I still expect you to cough up that hundred bucks you owe me too."

As he walked out the front door I winced, slapped both hands to my face and sunk my head, running my fingers back through my hair. "Why do these things always happen to me?" I asked again.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and for the reviews, they are all much appreciated :) Hope everyone's still enjoying x**


	25. Chapter 5: Confessing Truths

**Confessing Truths**

* * *

It didn't matter that we'd got the car back to Markus's safely in the end without cost; the way I saw it, I'd fucked up big-time and I felt terrible about it. Now that Vince had left, I sat alone on one of Markus's sofas with my head buried in my hands, knowing that what seemed like a minor mistake was anything but minor. If some cop had come along instead of Vince, or even if a regular passer-by had stopped to ask if I needed help, the consequences could've been dire. I hadn't just run out of gas, I'd put the whole operation at risk; not to mention Ace and the other guys.

But what made me feel even worse was that, if Ace wanted to keep me in, then that'd mean keeping my stuff-up from Markus – his own business partner. I regretted jumping the gun on asking Vince to keep it zipped because that should've been Ace's call; but I'd assumed that Markus would be there when we got back, and knowing Vince, he wouldn't have hesitated to spill it.

I scooped up my beer bottle from the floor at my feet, and as I threw back the last mouthful, a cold fear suddenly came over me. I was sure that Ace would see the severity of my mistake, but what if it was severe enough for him to lose all faith in me? What if this was a one chance deal with him too, and now _he'd_ want to cut me out? The car conversion operation meant everything to Ace – it was his baby. And if I were to be shut out, that'd mean he'd have to start keeping a whole lot hidden from me. But I wanted to be involved with this huge part of his life; not excluded. The way I saw it, being _in_ was the only way I could truly be close to him.

I strolled a few paces across the kitchen to the trashcan and let my bottle drop onto the pile of empties that had filled it to the brim. That one beer had left me feeling fairly mellow despite all the feelings of guilt and worry cycling around in my head. Just as I was contemplating on stealing another one, a car drove across the front yard of the trailer, diverting my attention. It rumbled around the back and parked in the garage, before dying to leave the trailer silent again. A door clicked open before slamming shut. As I leant back against the kitchen bench, I took a deep breath and straightened my posture, waiting to see who'd appear.

Ace stepped through the doorway and instantly noticed me leaning back against the bench. He must've read it from my face because but he knew straight away that something was up. Not that he showed any sign of real concern. He seemed to be in a fairly laid back mood, which was good news for me. "Vince been back yet?"

"Yeah, he left not long ago." I still didn't click that he'd only asked about Vince, and not Eyeball.

"What's up with you?" he asked casually as he turned to open the fridge and pull out a beer. He popped the top off one and offered it to me before grabbing another for himself.

There was no doubt that I had to confess what I done to him straight away because Vince was sure to go blabbing about it to him the next day. I preferred that Ace got the 'real' version of what happened from me before the over-the-top, exaggerated version that Vince was sure to concoct.

"It's that obvious huh?" I bit my lip and stared at the black and white checked lino that spread across the kitchen floor. I couldn't bring myself to make eye contact with him.

"You don't look ecstatic enough for someone who's just brought something like _that_ into the garage," he said before taking a swig. "So what's the problem?"

I blew out a sigh and, as I braced myself for a lecture, I spied a half-full bottle of Jim Beam on the bench opposite me. _That would be so good right about now,_ I thought. _It'd make this a whole lot easier to say._

"Come on, what is it?" he insisted.

"Well, I didn't exactly get the car back here alone tonight." I swallowed hard, and continued staring intently across the room at the bottle.

"Why, what did you do?" he asked, finally with some concern.

"Well… I ran outta gas a few miles up the road… but then Vince came along and helped me. He syphoned some outta his."

"So you didn't check the gas? After I reminded you to, right before you went for it?"_ Good one Cass. Spoil his good mood._

"I know! I'm sorry, it was a stupid mistake. And I already understand the risks of being stranded out on the road like that. But if you wanna lecture me, go ahead." I still hadn't looked him in the eyes and that bottle of Beam now called to me so strongly that I couldn't resist it any longer. I put my beer down on the bench behind me and stepped swiftly across the kitchen to grab it.

"What are you doing?"

"Gettin' pissed, what does it look like?" I muttered bitterly as I unscrewed the lid. "Just tell Markus to take it outta my pay, OK?" I didn't bother with a glass, just knocked back a few shots straight out of the bottle like a raging alcoholic.

"Why is it that every time something's gone wrong lately, you wanna get fuckin' wasted?"

"What do you mean?" I frowned, before taking another shot.

"Why do you think I've been tryin' to keep you away from the coke?"

"I dunno; why _have_ you?" I finally looked him straight in the eyes, my brow frowning even deeper into a scowl. "It's not like _you_ don't do it…"

"I don't do it 'cos I'm feelin' sorry for myself. But you, as soon as something turns to shit, instead of just dealing with it, you wanna get your hands on some like it's gonna solve all your problems. Cocaine don't solve problems Cassie, it creates 'em. And I only let you have it to begin with cos I thought you were stronger than that. And smarter."

I wanted to keep on objecting, but what he said _was_ making some kinda sense. I'd only been craving it since my argument with Chris less than a week ago, but for Ace to already notice and see it as a problem, I realized I must've been pretty bad. Because if Ace was always right about everything else, I knew I'd be stupid not to take his advice on this.

"Wow," I blushed, my gaze diverting away from him again. "I never really looked at it that way before."

"Yeah, well, you better do somethin' about it cos I'm already gettin' fuckin' sick of it." Those words were such a shock to my ears that I felt like I'd been emotionally jolted ten feet away from him. Whatever I was doing was obviously putting distance between us, and that was the exact opposite of what I wanted. Ace was all I had, and I would've done anything to keep him close.

"So what do you want me to do?" I resigned, glancing up at him. "Give it all up? Cos I'll do it. No more drinking, no more drugs... nothing. If that's what you want." I assertively placed the bottle down on the bench beside me as an act of faith.

"I'm not tryin' to force you to give everything up." He stepped forwards and hung his arms low around me, squishing me between him and the bench. "Just don't act so desperate for it all the time. Only do it 'cos you _wanna _do it, not 'cos you _need_ it. Got it?"

"Yeah," I whispered, sinking into submission. "I don't know what's come over me lately."

"And you only do it when you're with me OK? None of this goin' 'round to Keith's place to score behind my back. I still don't fuckin' trust him."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

I thought none of those terms mattered much because the thought of losing him gave me such a distressing wakeup call that I thought I'd never do coke again anyway. Isn't it funny how the importance of those moments lessens over time?

I tucked my hands into the back pockets of his jeans, nestling my head into his chest, appreciating how good he felt to snuggle up against. "Ace…"

"What?"

"I know this is gonna sound really sappy, but I still love you. And I just wanna be with you."

"Well ain't I a lucky guy?" He laughed, reaching down to his beer on the bench behind me before taking a mouthful.

"Hey, I didn't hear a hint of sarcasm in there did I?" I cocked an eyebrow up at him, poking him playfully in the ribs.

"Maybe a little," he teased, before giving me a wet beer kiss on the forehead.

I wiped it off against his shirt and sighed, sinking back into his chest. "I know Markus won't like what I did tonight but if it's over, it's over. And I'm really sorry I let you down. I just hope you haven't lost any faith in me over it, you know? And I hope this doesn't change things between us…"

"Hold it," he said cutting off my rambling and nudging me off his chest to look at him. "Why would it all be over?"

"Well, because Markus said I only get one chance, and I fucked that up. And so now, if you still want me in we're gonna have to keep this from him. But I can't ask you to do that."

"You didn't fuck it up, you ran outta gas. You learn from your mistakes. It's not like you got caught red handed and hauled down to the station."

"But, you do realize what could've happened if it _wasn't_ Vince who showed up, don't you?"

"So you were lucky," he shrugged. "Don't do it again."

"Oh, so it's alright to tell Markus then?"

"Fuck off, he'd go psycho." He downed the rest of his beer before taking a step backwards to reach for the one I'd abandoned. "You want this?" I shook my head and so he started on it before reclaiming his position of squashing me up against the bench. "Don't worry about Markus. Once he sees what you drove in tonight, he'll wanna keep you on."

That compliment perked me up a bit and even left me feeling a bit smug. "So I did alright then?" I beamed up at him for approval.

"Yeah," he narrowed his eyes to me with sincerity. "You did real good."

I sighed with relief to know that Ace still wanted me there after my huge mistake. He was the first person in my life who'd had that amount of belief in me and I wanted to cling to that feeling – that sense of worth – just as much as I wanted to cling to him. He had deemed me worthy to share in the glory he was creating for himself, and now I was answering to that call with such desire it could've passed for an obsession. It was ride or die with him, at any cost; perhaps even at the cost of my own integrity. I know; love is blind right? And I was walking right into this thing like I had no peripheral vision whatsoever - tunnel vision. It didn't matter that I'd just ripped off two grand's worth of machine from some poor bastard in Lewiston. All that had any weight of importance was staying in the game and therefore, staying close to Ace. Well, and perhaps that little matter of the hundred dollars.

"So ah… if I then… say, made a bet with Vince for not fucking up tonight, would you say I won it?"

"With Vince? Not a chance," he grinned. "Why, how much did you bet?"

"A hundred dollars," I uttered quietly, sucking in my bottom lip.

"Fuck," he laughed, shaking his head before taking another swig.

"Well, it's not like I thought I was gonna lose. I thought that money was as good as mine."

His grin became subtly sly, his eyes turned devious and his hips shifted to push against me even firmer. "You're getting expensive taste girl. Wastin' money on drugs, takin' huge gambles, buyin' all this fancy underwear…" He pulled on my collar to take a cheeky peek down the front of my shirt.

"It's called lingerie," I corrected him, blushing and batting away his hand. "And besides, you _like_ seeing me in it."

"Not as much as I like seeing you take it off." Without warning, he kissed me feverishly and lifted me up onto the bench behind. _Oh shit, here we go again,_ I worried, remembering the outdoor experience from a few days earlier.

"What if Eyeball turns up?" I asked, as he forced my shirt up over my head. "Surely he can't be too much longer."

"If Eyeball's not back yet, he won't be turnin' up anytime soon; trust me," he smirked. "And Markus is up at the house, takin' the night off."

If it hadn't been for him pinching the hooks off my 'upper' lingerie, and being his usual convincing self, I probably would've thought more about that last sentence. But, I'd learn all about Eyeball's devious ways soon enough.

* * *

**2**

Ace wasn't there when I woke the next day at my usual time of around noon. He was at Markus's place for most of the day and I didn't see him until late afternoon. I was changing the sheets on the bed (something I did fairly regularly) when I heard his '49 rumble down the driveway with the radio blaring. I stepped into the hallway for a glance outside, to see it snake in a handbrake slide across the gravel. He was obviously in another good mood.

"Cassie!" he called through the house over the noise of the engine, still running behind him. "Get in the car, we're goin' in to shoot some pool!"

I left the bedding and went through to meet him, but wasn't ready to go anywhere with my face in that state. It had only been a couple of days and although the swelling had gone down, they were still plainly visible.

"You comin' or what?" he asked, growing impatient.

"I dunno… these bruises…" I said, prodding my tender jaw.

"They look fine, come on!" He grabbed my hand and yanked me out of the house before slamming the door.

"People will ask questions you know," I warned.

"So fuckin' what? Get in the car!"

Knowing there was no talking my way out of it, I rolled my eyes with a sigh and followed him. He was just trying to get me out of the house since I'd been home by myself all day, but after the reactions I'd got from the other guys, I would've preferred being alone over more of those. I mean, who knew _who_ I might bump into.

Ace stepped into Irby's and I followed cautiously behind him, already feeling all the eyes on me as the door swung closed. Being mid-afternoon on a Thursday, the place wasn't packed but there were already a fair few patrons in and drinking their money away. Vince and Eyeball had just finished a game on the back pool table, playing for bets as usual. Charlie, Fuzzy and Jack sat on one side of the booth (Billy was working) relaxing back with a round of beers, and to my surprise, Keith was sitting alone on the other side. I gave him an acknowledging nod, still annoyed at him for accusing Ace of hitting me. Ace saw him but ignored him completely, although he was sure to give my ass a possessive squeeze.

Ace was itching for a game so grabbed a cue and told Eyeball to rack up the balls. I stood beside Vince to watch because I didn't feel ready to sit and talk to Keith yet.

"Hey, O'Connor. Got that money for me?" Vince asked lowly, rubbing his hands together (literally).

"I haven't got it with me. Are you comin' back to Ace's later? I'll pay you then."

"You fuckin' better. You better uphold your end of the bargain too," he spoke quietly, so as not to be over heard by the other guys, but Ace's ears pricked up as he lent down to break. "In fact, you ain't doin' anythin' right now, so why don't you go over and pay her a visit?"

"Right now? I don't know if that's such a good idea…"

"Come on Cass, you owe me one."

Failing to talk my way out of being pushed into seeing people yet again, I rolled my eyes and heaved a sigh. "Fine." I liked the idea of avoiding Keith, but hated that I'd have to explain and possibly lie to Natalie about the bruises.

"What's this about?" Ace asked, grabbing my arm as I shifted past him.

"I'll tell you later," I grumbled.

"No, tell me now."

"OK." I only agreed because Vince walked off to buy a round at the bar behind us, but I still spoke softly. "I'm doing Vince a favor. Let's just say that I owe him one for keeping quiet about… you know."

"Is that right?" he smirked in Vince's direction. "So what was _your_ end of the bargain?"

"Oh… just stuff with Natalie."

"Don't tell me. He's trying to get you to convince her to let him get down her pants right?"

"Wow, that was a close guess."

"Yeah, he's been goin' on about that for a few days now. I told him he wouldn't get anywhere with a Catholic chick, didn't fuckin' listen, did he?"

"That's what I said!"

"Well, you don't have to do it. I've already told Vince that if he squeals I'll kick his ass."

"No, I _do_ have to. I made a promise. And besides, it's the least I can do for him since he stopped to help me out." Then I narrowed my eyes, smoothly shifted closer to him and slipped my arms loosely around his neck. "And by the way… I've got a bone to pick with you."

"Oh have you now? And what might that be?"

"Sounds like you guys all tell each other an awful lot."

"Why? What's he been opening his mouth about?" He put his cue down on the pool table and lent against the edge, pulling me into him.

I tippy-toed and whispered it in his ear because I really didn't want to be overheard repeating that.

"Is that all?" he mocked.

"Yeah… why? You sound like you were expecting it to be worse…"

"Worse? Sounds like I was paying you a compliment."

"Not the way he said it. So what the fuck have you been saying?" I asked through gritted teeth, lightheartedly slapping him on the arm.

"Hmm," he growled, turning us around and pushing _me_ back against the pool table. "Only good things."

"Uh-huh..."

"And they're all fuckin' jealous as hell." He picked me up and sat me on the edge of the pool table to neck me and I freaked and wriggled in protest to get down. There was _no_ _way_ I was letting him get me in there.

"Ace! We're in a bar if you've forgotten."

"Relax, I'm just warmin' you up for later." He was just teasing me and probably showing off to the guys, especially Keith. But I didn't like feeling everyone's eyes on me.

"Come on, this isn't funny," I insisted, trying again to slip off the table.

"Bah - ya killjoy." He gave me a lighthearted grin and let me down, being sure to give my butt another good grope before I headed out for my visit next door.

* * *

**3**

I stepped into the Blue Point Diner for the first time in two months. It looked exactly the same as it had the last time I'd been in, so much that I was emotionally overwhelmed by a million memories. The booth to my left by the door was where I tried to hide when I wanted to get off the street on a rainy day, when Violet noticed me and asked me what was wrong. The booth to my right was where Ace and Eyeball had come in to harass me, and Ace became so irate that I thought he was gonna clock me one. And up there, the booth by the front desk, that's where Chris and I spent many hours talking and appreciating each other's company. So much had happened and so much had changed since then that it felt like it all took place ten years ago, not a matter of months.

A lady in her early 40's appeared in the doorway to the back kitchen, snapping me out of my thoughts. With big brown doe eyes and plump cheeks identical to Natalie's, I guessed that this could only be her mother. She wore a yellow check cotton dress that hung well below the knees with a white apron tied around her waist. Unlike Natalie's dark hair which flowed as a wavy frame to her face, her mother's hair was tied back in a bun. And unlike Natalie's kind smile, her mother's lips were rigidly set in a tight line. Whether it was because of the bruises or the fact that I was immodestly clad in only shorts and singlet, I knew straight off the bat that she didn't like the look of me.

"Didn't you read the sign in the front door? We're closed," she said sharply in a very proper and formal tone, using her hands to shoo at me as if I were a small annoying child.

"Oh, I was just wondering if I could see Natalie. Is she here?" I tolerated her rudeness and tried to be polite, but I'd forgotten the all-important magic word which was surely noticed.

"And whom might you be?" She stiffly looked me up and down and I could feel her disapproving eyes paying most attention to the bruises.

"I'm just a friend."

"Well, you must have a name child."

"It's Cassie."

Suddenly Natalie appeared in the doorway behind her mother and her plump cheeks flushed red as she saw me. "Mother, this is a friend of mine," she smiled awkwardly. Introducing _anyone_ to her parents is a nervous task for Natalie and it was not ideal for me to just show up unannounced. She would've preferred to prepare me for what was coming, make sure I was well dressed and on my best behavior. But instead, I'd put her on the spot and that made me feel awkward in return.

"It's nice to meet you Mrs… erm…" I blushed myself as I suddenly realized I didn't even know their surname.

"Preston," she finished, ignoring my outstretched hand. "I guess you haven't known my daughter for very long then."

"No…"

"Well, if you are to be friends then it is only right that I meet your parents. It is of the utmost importance that Natalie has only the very best of influences, and your parents should feel the same way."

I glanced at Natalie, hoping she'd pipe up and tell her mom that meeting my parents was impossible, but she shook her head a fraction as a warning to keep it zipped. "Yes, I'm sure they would," I replied. I figured that wasn't really a lie... bending the truth perhaps, just until I got an opportunity to ask Natalie why my parents being dead was such a big deal.

"Mother, may I please speak to Cassie for a while until supper? I've finished all of my chores."

Her mother gave me a distrusting frown, doubting that leaving her daughter alone with a banged up, scantily-clad, infidel was such a good idea.

_Don't worry, you'll be able to cleanse her of all my evil influences afterwards_, I felt like saying.

"Please mother? Just until supper?" Natalie pleaded.

"Hmm… I suppose that would be fine," she reluctantly gave in. "Just stay in the store. I'll have your brother call you when supper is ready." And with that, she gave me another disapproving glance before turning her back and heading through the kitchen, out the back door towards their house across the way.

"Holy shit, you weren't kidding!" I gaped.

"Cassie," Natalie smiled sensitively. "Please don't swear in here. You might be overheard."

"Oh… sorry." I had to remember that this wasn't my place any longer.

She led me to the booths nearest the front of store, next to the one Ace nearly flipped and punched my lights out in all those months ago. We sat opposite each other with her purposefully sitting right on the edge so she could keep a close eye on the kitchen door. I figured she didn't want to be unexpectedly walked in on during our natter.

"Cassie, what happened to your cheek?" Now that we were alone, she suddenly lost her own rigidness and relaxed into the Natalie I remembered from a few days ago. But still, we thought it best to talk in very low voices.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just… slipped and fell down the stairs. I was drunk. It was quite comical really."

"I don't think that made a very good impression on Mother," she smiled forgivingly. "You probably should've waited until they healed."

"Well, I was going to but… Vince and the guys are all over at Irby's and I was wondering if you wanted to come over to see Vince for a while. I think he um… misses you. We could just say we're going for a walk to the park or something after you have your dinner."

"Oh, I'd love to but I don't think I'd be able to manage it. My parents would never let me."

"They won't even let you take an evening stroll to the park?"

"My mother doesn't know you Cassie. At the moment Carol is the only friend my parents have approved of me seeing, and that's because they met her parents and got along well with them."

"Approved of them?" I asked alarmed. _Who do these people think they are?_ "Well, you know that your parents meeting mine will be impossible…"

"I know. But you can't tell them you're living alone. They'd freak if they knew I was associating with someone who was basically running wild. And please don't take that the wrong way… that's just how _they'd_ see it."

"You really don't have much freedom, do you?"

"Nope," she sighed, twirling a dark brown lock in thought. "If I want to go anywhere with unapproved friends, I need notice. Lots of notice."

I respected her parents for wanting to bring Natalie up right and I realized that they only wanted the best for her. But I could feel the frustration pouring out of her from across the table. She'd already told me just how restrained she felt and how she thought she was the crazy one in her family for always being unwilling to follow the herd, just for the sake of following the herd.

The question was, what to do about it – if anything. She was obviously accustomed to sneaking around behind her parents back, but it made me feel uncomfortable to encourage that too much. I didn't want to be the one to lead her astray and risk influencing her in the wrong way. But then again, she was already hanging out with a bunch of drug dealers and car thieves – not that she knew it – and so, her parent's efforts to keep her innocent clearly weren't working anyway. After my conscious finally finished its massive tug of war between respect and deceit, I thought… _fuck it,_ and threw caution to the wind.

"Well, it's my 19th in a few weeks and I'll probably con Ace into organizing something for it. Do you think you could make it to that?"

"It's your birthday? Really? What date?" she asked, her doe eyes eagerly widening.

"The 25th of September."

"Oh wow, mines the 23rd. I'll be 18."

"Seriously? Wow, that's a coincidence. Maybe we could make it a double."

She gave a little gasp of excitement. "So you mean it'd be a party for both of us?"

"Yeah, exactly!" I beamed, growing keen myself. "I mean, it's your 18th! You gotta do something for that! So you wanna?"

"Oh golly, yes!" she beamed back. Her face was swathed with interest and enthusiasm like she was busting to fast-forward into next month. But then suddenly, as the reality and the question of 'how' began to set in, her pretty face transitioned back into a grave depression. I must say, it was unpleasant to witness. "Oh… but you'll want to do this at night right? I'm not usually allowed to stay over at people's houses."

"Are you serious? Not even a _close_ friend's place like Carol's? Hell, you're gonna be 18…"

"I know," she sighed, heavily resting her cheek on her hand. "And if my parents found out I went to a party they'd ground me indefinitely."

"Well we don't have to do it at night… but… Natalie, I'm really trying to respect your parents here and the last thing I want is for you to get into trouble because of something I suggested. But…"

"But?"

"Well, meeting your mother just before… that kind of attitude just seems _way_ over the top. I mean, sure she's your mother and you have to respect what she says and all that, but hell… you're gonna be eighteen years old and they're treating you like you're fuckin' eight." I realized I'd just sworn again, but I'd said it purposely to put much needed emphasis into my strong opinion. The way I saw it, when you're eighteen, you're old enough to look after yourself and make your own decisions. "And besides, what difference does it make whether your parents ground you or not? From what you've been describing, it sounds like you're already grounded indefinitely."

"You know what? You're right," she said firmly, slapping her hand determinedly down on the table. "I'm sick of being treated like a child. I'm going to that party! And you know what? I'm not even gonna lie about it. I'm just gonna tell them straight."

"Woah," I gaped, suddenly regretting what I'd said. I wasn't expecting her to take to it so boldly. I felt like I'd released a beast. "Careful with that…"

"In fact, let's go for a walk to the 'park' after dinner. I don't care what they do. I wanna see… Vince and so I'm gonna."

"Erm… OK." My back was pushed back up against the booth as I was blown away by this new found energy surging from my friend.

"What, you don't think I should?" At feeling my lack of assurance she suddenly cowered and lost her confidence again.

"I think… you and your mother need to sit down and talk about it. As soon as you start being all confrontational, they're gonna put up the walls and you're not gonna get anywhere. You've gotta talk reason."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. Can you please tell Vince I'm sorry I couldn't see him tonight?"

"Of course. Gee, you ah… mustn't get to see him very often," I slyly slid in as an attempt to maneuver the conversation more into Vince's direction.

"Not really, no. I usually just tell my parents I'm going to Carol's when she's planning on seeing Eyeball. Then we'd just tell _her_ parents we're going for a walk or shopping, or to visit another friend, but instead we'd spend the day with the guys."

"So you wouldn't get much 'alone time' then."

"Not much, no. Well, he tried to come into my room through my window once," she giggled. "I was _so_ nervous that I didn't let him stay long. If my parents had found out they would've put bars on the window and I would've been grounded for a year."

"Oh, well that's no good."

She shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat. "Cassie, can I please ask you something?"

"Absolutely. Anything."

"I've only been seeing Vince for two weeks and he already wants to… you know, but I've never… you know. I'm really scared cos if I got pregnant, my parents wouldn't ground me, they'd kill me."

"Do you want to though? Because, you shouldn't do anything you don't want to do."

"Well… yes," she said in a small meek voice, seemingly embarrassed about confessing it. "I think one should try anything and everything. Experience makes for a rich and knowledgeable life, don't you think?"

"I really like how you put that." I must say, I wasn't expecting her to be _that_ willing, being Catholic and all. But I was beginning to understand what Natalie was all about. Her parents were the ones who were Catholic – she was just being hauled along. Natalie was just a regular girl who wanted what every other girl our age wanted – fun.

"Well, if you're sure you want to then you gotta get on the pill. Tomorrow. You can't rely on guys like these to be erm… responsible."

"But what if it doesn't work?"

"It's never done me wrong, thank fuck. Woops, sorry…"

"Well, OK. The Catholic Church is strictly against birth control, but it's strictly against sex before marriage as well."

"Hey, these are _your_ decisions. I know these guys can be demanding, but don't feel like you _have_ to do anything. OK?"

"Aw… this is _so_ hard," she sighed, placing her face in her cute little hands.

"What's hard?"

"Well… naw, I can't say…"

"Why not? Just say it," I shrugged. "You can tell me anything. I've heard it all before… trust me."

"Really? Are you sure?" she winced.

"Sure I'm sure," I shrugged again confidently.

"OK… what do you think about Eyeball?"

I was in the middle of a swallow and literally choked on it. I gawped at her bug-eyed, stunned. "Holy fuck… where did that one come from?"

"Cassie! You said…"

"But I wasn't expecting you to come out with that! Jesus!"

"Cassie! Stop swearing!"

"Oh… sorry." We were still talking – well, yelling – in whispers, so I was fairly sure no one would've heard.

"I'm really bad, aren't I?" She slumped forwards, letting her forehead thump on the table.

"Well… Natalie," I said, sympathetically patting her shoulder. "He's your best friend's boyfriend. If there's any guy that's off limits, it's him."

"But, I really like him," she sighed, lifting her head and letting it rest lazily on the palm of her hand. "He's just so, carefree."

"Well, Vince is carefree. Dang, you should hear some of the stuff that comes outta _his_ mouth…"

"Well, I like Vince too… but not nearly as much. Eyeball's just so cool and… crazy," she sighed with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Vince is… crazy," I coughed out. I couldn't believe I was actually advocating for the guy.

"Plus Eyeball is so incredibly cute, don't you think?"

"Erm… hmm..." I pursed my lips and anxiously ran my fingers back through my hair. "I think it's best if I don't answer that." He's one of Ace's best friends after all.

She heaved a huge sigh, still with that dreamy look in her eyes.

"Natalie, I think you're gonna have to let him go. Carol's a nice girl, but… I bet she ain't that nice."

"Yeah, I know you're right."

"Natalie, supper's ready," came a young male voice from behind me.

I twisted around to see a dark haired young man, well dressed in a collared shirt and dress pants, who could only be Natalie's twin brother. His face was flawless, just like hers, and although he didn't have her plump cheeks, he had her eyes. I'm sure plenty of girls who like the 'clean' type would crawl over him if they could, but from what I'd heard about him, he was following in his parent's footsteps. Natalie had a dark side to her; I was learning that fairly quickly. But this kid had 'good-boy' written all over him.

"I have to go," she began to rush. "You have to go. I'll try to talk to my mother, but that could take some time. I'll have to find the right moment."

"OK. Good luck," I smiled. We both stood and she unexpectedly flung her arms around me, pulling me in for a tight hug. Surprised, I hugged her back to show her some support.

"I think I'm going to be super lucky to have you as a friend, aren't I?" she smiled after pulling away from me.

"Either that, or you'll regret it," I cracked a small laugh, biting the corner of my lip.


	26. Chapter 6: Sixth Deadly Sin

**A/N:** ***whistles* wow... what a mission that was to finish lol... hope you enjoy :) xx**

**Sixth Deadly Sin**

* * *

After quietly pulling the door of the diner closed, I hung on the handle, taking a moment for a quiet chuckle to myself. Natalie lusting after her best friend's guy; who would've thought it? Half of me felt sorry for Vince even though he was a complete ass and didn't deserve such a nice girl like Natalie anyway… but then again, she was starting to prove that she wasn't such a 'good girl' after all. I shuddered to think how Carol would react if she found out because she was Natalie's only hope of seeing daylight; without her, Natalie would have no life whatsoever. Surely Natalie would take that into account… wouldn't she? I just had to hope she would, drop the idea and get over it… fast. And then I grew curious to wonder… did Eyeball have any suspicions about his secret admirer?

I turned to walk to Irby's two doors down, but was stopped in my tracks by a familiar voice behind me, catching me in mid-thought. "How much more are you gonna take before you admit to yourself that Ace is a bastard and always will be a bastard?" My lips formed a bitter smirk as I recognized it. He'd obviously been talking to Keith.

"Gee, you sound a lot like your cousin," I said matter-of-factly, leisurely turning to face Chris. "He likes to jump to conclusions too." Chris's big blues widened slightly and his jaw drooped a little when he saw the 'evidence' of what he'd been led to believe. But I stood my ground and tried to put on a stern front, hopefully strong enough to drive the truth into him.

"So you're trying to say it wasn't Ace?"

"It wasn't Ace. Like I told Keith, it was a guy in Chamberlain."

"Oh… OK. So, tell me the story then," he said with sincere intrigue.

I felt humbled to see that Chris was genuinely willing to let me explain, but I knew there was no way I could ever tell him what _really_ happened. That would mean confessing to stealing the guy's '55 Chev. Another option was to make up a story, or twist the truth, but I knew Chris would see through that. He was way too smart to fall for bullshit. So, with the confidence portion of my 'stern front' gradually becoming sucked dry, I was feeling disheartened and a bit peeved for having to pass up my only opportunity to have Chris believe me and join my side on this one. Because the only way he'd believe me without a story, was by trusting my word. But _my word_ was not something he deemed very trustworthy these days.

"I can't tell you," I finally answered with a drop in my voice, knowing exactly what he'd think of that.

After a deep breath of disappointment, he spoke to me very firmly. "I know where you're comin' from Cass. You don't want him to get in trouble so you lie for him. I did the same thing for Eyeball when he broke my arm once. I got Mamma to take the light bulb out of the socket in the cellar so it would fit my story about falling down the stairs. No one believed _me_ either, and they were right not to. Because it was all just a cover story - an outright lie."

"But, I'm not lying Chris," I said gently. "I swear it on my mother's grave. I can't tell you what happened that night, but Ace didn't cause these and they weren't his fault. But, if you don't believe me then, I ain't gonna let it chew me up. I know it wasn't him - and nothing you, your cousin, or anyone else says is ever gonna change the fact."

His expression began to contort as if he was caught between a sneaking suspicion that I may have been telling the truth, and 'knowing' how heavily Ace was manipulating me. "So… let's say you are telling the truth. What are you and Ace up to in Chamberlain that you can't talk about?"

Told you he was smart. Too smart for his own good. That was my cue to make a quick exit. "I'll catch you later Chris," I patted him on the shoulder with a small grin. And with that, I turned my back on him and walked two doors up to Irby's without another glance.

* * *

I'd been gone less than 20 minutes, but Irby's had gone from a having few patrons to being filled, almost to the brim. _'Ain't that a Shame'_ was playing on the jukebox at the back (which I thought was rather ironic), but it was hard to hear it clearly over the loud hubbub of voices and the random clinking of billiard balls. I gazed through the hazy smoke to see that all the regulars were in their usual places – A line of old men's asses lazily parked on stools at the bar, the middle aged guys claiming the pool tables as their own, and the younger ones finding nothing better to do for the afternoon than get pissed in the booths – us included. As I made my way to our usual booth at the back of the room, I noticed a couple of guys staring at me and muttering to each other as I passed. And I couldn't help assume what they'd be saying. "It wasn't Ace OK?" I blurted out, storming past them.

Charlie and Eyeball were now on the pool table and I could see Ace sitting on the end of the high-backed booth, tossing back a swig of his beer. He saw me approaching and gave me an alluring wink, which killed the irritably and sent me aflutter. Since the booths were high-backed, the other guys were hidden from view, and I wondered if Keith was still in there. I kinda hoped so because giving him a piece of my mind about feeding Chris a pack of lies was definitely on my to do list.

As I reached the booth everyone else came into view. On one side of the booth sat Fuzzy, Jack and Vince. Vince had a deck of cards and was playing quick rounds of show-poker with the younger two, trying to get them both sloshed off a bottle of Bell's scotch whiskey. Apparently Jack had swiped another one from his grandfather's liquor cabinet and snuck it into the bar. I gave Vince a shove to get him to move over for me so I was sitting on the end, directly opposite Ace.

From the other side, Keith gave me another acknowledging nod and I returned it again, this time with the evil-eyes. His mouth gaped open slightly and he gave a confused shrug as if gesturing to ask, "What did I do?" I decided to ignore him for now since it'd be rather awkward having that conversation over the table. And sitting between Ace and Keith, with her long blond locks draped over and behind each shoulder, was Sarah. The blond boomerang was back… again. She didn't acknowledge me, but she did frown at the bruises for a few seconds, like she was trying to comprehend how anyone would want to be seen in public looking any less than perfect.

"So did you talk to Natalie?" Vince mumbled close to my ear. The chatter and laughter that filled Irby's was so loud that I could barely make out what he'd said.

"Looks like you're gonna get lucky," I replied close to his ear, leaving out the part where Eyeball had been first choice. "But no more jumping through her window OK? It makes her nervous. You're gonna have to figure something else out."

"Oh yeah?" he said excitedly shifting in his seat. "What about my place?"

"Hell I don't know! I'm not your fucking '_date planner'_! I've done my job… figure the rest out for yourself."

He seemed happy enough with that answer – so happy that he even shouted a double round of beers for the guys… even though, technically, they were on me.

* * *

For the next half hour or so Sarah continued on with pretending I didn't exist, while I wished she'd reach her curfew or something and fuck off home. She never seemed to run out of 'stories' to resurface from her and Ace's past, but it was clearly just a lame tactic to selfishly hog all of his attention for herself – not that he had the slightest bit of enthusiasm for it. I'd never seen him so dreary eyed in all my days with him. All she did was talk complete and utter boring crap, but it all had purpose – trying to piss me off.

"Hey Ace," she grinned, excitedly patting him on the knee. "Do you remember that time when you came to my bedroom window late at night and asked me to sneak out with you? Then you, me, Eyeball and Carol all went up to Lewiston and went to the drive-in movies?"

"What about it?" Ace slouched in his seat, moodily rotating his beer bottle on the table, clearly bored out of his mind.

"What was the name of that movie?"

"How the fuck should I know?" he snapped at her.

"Yeah, I guess we were a little too busy to watch most of it, weren't we honey?"

Ace glanced at me to see my reaction, and I gave him a small shrug to say it was fine. The things she said didn't really bother me in the way that I'm sure she intended. Yeah, she was dammed annoying but I was strong and secure enough to accept that she had a past with Ace – but honestly, it wasn't much of a past. They'd only been together for four months… that's fuck all. OK, so at the time Ace and I had only been together for around three – and OK fine… that was on and off – but look at how much we'd been though. Someone could've convinced me it had been three years. She didn't know half the things I knew about him; he'd never told any other girlfriend about these covert schemes of his, let alone believe they could handle going out and doing it. Hell, even most of the Cobras didn't know about that stuff. He'd set me aside from the rest and was letting me join him down a path that no other girl had ever been trusted to tread. She had nothing on me.

"Hey sweetie," Sarah said, excitedly building her way up to another mind-numbing story.

"Call me sweetie again and I'll throw you outta the fuckin' bar," Ace glared sideways at her to lay down the law.

The guys next to me all laughed mockingly at her, but Keith didn't like what he heard. He leant forwards on the table with intent, peering around Sarah to look at Ace directly. "Gee Ace, you sure got the charm when it comes to talking to a lady," he said with sour sarcasm.

"Why don't you mind your own business, asshole?" Ace bit back.

"Hey, I'm just sayin'," Keith shrugged, determined to get his point across. "You don't needa be so fuckin' nasty to chicks all the time."

I suddenly got the feeling that this squabble wasn't really over Ace's comment to Sarah. Keith still wasn't done on slamming him about the way he'd talked to me the night before. And I bet he still didn't believe me on who dealt the blows to my face…

Ace's demeanor snapped from bored-shitless to aggressive in an instant. "What the fuck did you just say to me? Do you wanna take this outside?"

"If that's what it's gonna take to teach you some manners, then sure, let's fuckin' go." Keith shifted to suggest to Sarah that he was bursting to get out of the booth, and she eagerly did so after Ace promptly scooted out. Vince was pushing and moaning at me to get out, along with the other guys who were keen to see a good rumble, but I wasn't in the mood for more violence; I'd seen far too much of that lately.

"Keith, stay where you are," I said firmly, abruptly standing in my seat. The only way to prevent this fight would be to ask Keith to back down… 'cos I knew Ace sure wouldn't.

Keith stopped in mid-movement with one knee on the seat, his eyes laden with hate. Being such a laid back kinda guy, I'd never seen that from him before and I was unsure if he was gonna to listen to me. "Cassie, this guy needs a smack in the head…"

"Wow, aren't I feeling flattered right about now?" Sarah beamed.

"No. No more fighting, OK? Please?" I begged them both. "Keith, sit down."

Keith glared at Ace, who looked like he was ready reach across the seat and grab Keith by the throat to strangle him. "Alright," Keith hesitantly submitted. "But he better fuckin' lay off you. I mean it."

"Lay off _her_? I'm the one he yelled at!" Sarah protested, sliding back into the booth all pouty. I had a feeling she'd worked out what this was all about by then. But whether she believed it was true or not, I'll never know.

Ace was worked up and in a rage, and usually when he's like that I'm reluctant to talk to him in fear of making him worse. But I had to take the chance and pull him away from Keith to cool off. "Ace let it go," I said softly, taking his hand to lead him away. "Let's go buy a round."

"This ain't fuckin' over," Ace scowled over his shoulder as I tugged at his arm to keep him moving.

Ace pushed in at the far end of the bar and lent inwards to order a round while I waited behind him. That was the first time I'd ever seen him do that… and he even paid for it himself (well, at least I thought he did). But he only ordered seven bottles – Keith and Sarah would be buying their own if they wanted any. The bartender needed to restock the drinks from the back room, which I was pleased about because it meant I was able to keep Ace away from Keith for a few extra minutes.

"So what's Keith and Sarah doing here anyway?" I asked Ace, glancing across the room at them in the booth. Keith's large frame was relaxing back against the wall with his knees pulled up and his runners on the seat. He seemed to have calmed down now and was talking away to Sarah – the two had never met before that night.

"I dunno where Sarah came from. I got up to take a piss, came back, and there she was. But Keith's only sniffin' around 'cos he knows you're here." Ace stole a cigarette from a packet that lay open in front of the old guy beside him, as casually as if it were Eyeball's. The guy was paying too much attention to the baseball game to even notice, so Ace took advantage and stole another one to tuck behind his ear.

"What makes you think that?" I glanced over at them again and Keith was looking past Sarah, staring directly at me.

"You mean you haven't worked it out yet? He thinks I'm the one who smacked the shit outta you," he said, pulling his zippo from his pocket and lighting up.

"Oh… yeah. I knew," I said quietly, feeling my cheeks flush warm.

The bar tender finally returned with our beers and placed them in a cluster on the bar in front of us. Seeing that Ace had calmed down, I offered to take a few with the intention of returning to the booth. But Ace had other ideas. "You wanna few shots?" he mumbled through his cigarette.

"Are you sure I should? I'm supposed to be taking it easy, remember?"

"Fuck it," he shrugged. "Just as long as you stick close to me, alright?"

"Well that's an easy deal," I grinned impishly, tucking my left hand into his jeans pocket and giving his butt cheek a firm squeeze.

"Eight," he called over the bar.

"Four each? Fuck… I'll be wobbling back." I wondered what I'd done to deserve being spoilt and then figured he was probably just trying to be nice to me to prove a point. And then, I caught onto another reason…

He'd been too swift for me catch the first time, but it turned out that Ace had been milking the guy beside him for more than just cigarettes. The drinks were on him too. He reached into the side pocket of the guy's jacket, which was tied loosely around his waist, and pulled out a leather wallet. He then flicked out a crumpled bill to hand to the bar tender before slipping the wallet back in undetected. "Fucking sly bastard!" I laughed in hoarse whisper, flabbergasted as he pocketed the change.

"Shhh…" he grinned smugly, handing a shot back to me before taking one for himself. We downed each shot one-by-one and I clung tight to Ace's back pocket while the intoxication hit me like a train. I hadn't heard what brand of whiskey he'd asked for and couldn't see what bottle they'd been poured from. But I could tell what he'd bought us from the taste and I felt rather charmed to know he'd got my favorite – Jack Daniels.

"Take these," Ace said, handing me four beers before swiftly swiping the old guy's packet of cigarettes out from under his nose.

Ace took the other three and we made our way back to the guys. Fuzzy and Jack were on the pool table now and I gave them each a beer as we passed. Not that they needed it. I had to laugh at how hammered those two were after Vince's cunning ploy to get them that way. Jack's eyes would blink crazily as he tried to clear the blur to see where he was aiming the cue, and Fuzzy was gripping his pool cue tight as he used it to steady himself on his feet. That left Charlie, Eyeball and Vince finishing off the scotch opposite Keith and Sarah. Sarah grabbed one of the beers as Ace and I put the rest on the table, but he hooked it away from her and slid it over to Charlie in the far corner. Charlie and Eyeball glanced at each other with frowns of confusion, disbelieving that Ace could possibly have bought a round, especially after being in a shitty mood.

"Aw, Ace… don't be like that," Sarah stared up at him with a protruding lip.

Keith didn't care that Ace had missed them out though. "That's alright Sarah, that means I get to buy you one," he said gently patting her on the knee.

"Aw, really? You're _so_ sweet," she grinned, sliding her small figure across the seat and out so he could get though.

As Keith passed Ace the two locked staunch stares, each still eager to smash over the other. But I nudged at Ace, hinting for him to take the seat next to Vince and to let it go. There was only enough room for him on Vince's side of the table and I accepted that I'd have to take the other side next to Sarah. But again, Ace had other ideas. I squealed in surprise as he unexpectedly grabbed me around the waist and pulled me backwards down onto his lap.

Keith returned a few minutes later and placed a bottle of wine and a glass on the table in front of Sarah. "Wow, at least _somebody_ knows how to please a lady," she smiled up at him as he took her tiny hand to help her out of the booth again.

"Well, when a girl deserves to be treated well, she should be," he briefly glanced at me. I caught his hint but shrugged it off. Despite what Keith thought, I knew Ace was good to me. Hell, he'd just bought me four shots of my favorite drink and had me propped up on his knee like he couldn't get close enough…

Sarah is very petite, but when Keith's muscular figure passed behind her to shift back into the booth, she looked like a small child against him. He placed his large hands gently on her small hips and made sure to brush his wide chest lightly against her back, bringing a conceited grin to her lips. My heart began to thud a little harder as I intently watched his every move and felt a sprinkling of envy for Sarah, but when I caught myself out I instantly shook the forbidden thought and scolded myself for it. Ace and Vince's conversation behind me wafted around my ears, something about a friend of theirs preparing for his first time down the ¼ mile, (cars… it's always cars…) and Keith filled Sarah's glass to the brim while I looked on.

"You're such a gentleman Keith. Don't you think so Cassie?" she suddenly asked me with a rather sly demeanor, taking a small sip of her wine.

After getting over the shock of comprehending that Sarah had just spoken to me, I began to wonder… why. I knew if I was trying to chat up a guy like Keith I'd be trying to distract his attention away from other girls… not try to bring them into the conversation. It just seemed plain strange. I fumbled for an answer and in the end decided that with Keith in front of me and Ace behind, saying 'yes' or saying 'no' was a lose-lose question. So instead, I cleared my throat, grabbed the beer in front of me and intently sucked back a few good gulps.

Keith relaxed back in the booth a little more and stretched one arm out behind her shoulders, resting it on the back of the seat, while topping up her already near-full glass with the other hand. "Gee Keith," she glanced at him with those seductive clear blue eyes of hers, which she obviously knew how to use very well, "if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to get me drunk…"

"Hey," he shrugged innocently, "only have as much as you can handle. No more. But, I can give you a ride home if you need it…" He shifted in his seat a little, edging closer to her and she smiled at the gesture to welcome it.

"See Cassie? What did I tell you?" she grinned at Keith with a slow shrug. "Such a gentleman. But I don't know if I could resist wanting it _all_."

Keith's eyebrows raised slightly, but he kept that casual cool about him as he quickly flicked his eyes over her with interest.

Another sprinkling of envy came over me as I let myself admit that these two had eyes for each other. I mean, it was no business of mine… I'd made my choice and there was no way I'd ever give Ace up for anyone. And I had no reason to think that going with Sarah was a bad idea for Keith. Although she'd said some pretty harsh things to me the first time we met, I could kinda understand why she'd reacted that way – I mean, to be honest, Ace _had_ treated her like shit. So, I felt empathetic towards her and was willing to wipe the slate clean and give her a chance. After all, I didn't know Sarah - I didn't know many of her friends, didn't know her hopes and aspirations… didn't know what motived her. And I was glad she _seemed_ to be willing to move on from Ace.

But as the glances and grins got flirtier, and the brushes became more obvious, I admit… I began to feel more than a sprinkling of envy. It was more like a suffocating mound of the stuff that swamped over me, weighing me down with guilt for lusting over what I could never have. The problem was that I really _liked_ Keith, and although I couldn't have him, deep down I didn't want anyone else to either. Apart from the fact that he was hot enough to make any girl melt down with even the smallest alluring glance, I connected with him – just like I did Chris – and secretly I wanted to keep that special unspoken bond between us. I thought back to the times we'd enjoyed together, right at the start, before things got out of hand. It was a shame really because hanging out with Keith is a lot of fun – especially when gets on that guitar and goes for broke. Plus, he's always in a carefree mood, probably because he's always stoned, but you feel like you can do no wrong around him – again, just like Chris.

It had been a long time since I'd granted myself the pleasure of soaking up the sight of Keith, but as the night wore on the alcohol began to affect me in a big way, and wayward thoughts began to slip through the barriers that I'd kept myself safe in for the past few weeks. After finishing my last drop of beer, I felt guilt finally give way to my imagination and my eyes began to wander. He was wearing a white T-shirt which covered half the tattoos that ran from just above his elbows up to his shoulders. Those always make him look a lot rougher that he actually is, but his winning smile and Chris blue eyes balance that out so he just looks plain sexy. His T-shirt was fairly tight fitting so you could see, or at least imagine the tightness of that bod underneath, and he was always dressed casual in loose-fitting jeans… but they were just tight enough at the ass so you could see…

"Cassie?" Sarah said to me from across the table.

"Huh?" I snapped out of my errant thoughts, closing my jaw and guiltily falling back down to reality again.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, taking another sly sip of her wine.

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" I replied before taking another mouthful of my already empty bottle. A feeling of unease and embarrassment came over me as a realized I must've been a lot more obvious than intended. Keith had a look on his face that wasn't too dissimilar to Sarah's and I felt myself blush hard under the pressure. I turned sideways on Ace's lap and draped an arm around his shoulders, to listen in on his conversation with Vince and ignore Keith and Sarah's little flirting session. That was my intention anyway… but she didn't make it easy for me.

"So Keith, how come I've never met you before?" I heard her ask inquisitively.

"Well, I dunno. I guess we were bound to bump into each other sometime. I've heard a bit about you though…"

_Yeah, you heard that Ace thinks she's a bitch and can't get rid of her…_ I suddenly recalled him saying the first time I met him. And then a large question mark began to hover over my head… _Well…_ _why the fuck would you wanna go there then?_

"Oh you have? Interesting. Because I've heard some things about you too…" My head snapped back to her, to see a crafty smile spread wide across her face. I knew there was only one thing she could've meant by that. No doubt, Ace would've told her about the little 'accident' between Keith and I, but I had no idea why she would want to bring that up. And why the fuck did she keep looking at me like that? Why would she look at me at all? Why would she bother about acknowledging my entire existence? Whatever she was up to, it was starting to reek of mischief…

"Oh yeah, what have you heard?" he asked.

"Oh, just stuff. So, you know Cassie, don't you Keith?" She may have asked Keith, but she kept staring at me with a knowing grin, smeared with sly satisfaction.

"Sure I do. Pretty well actually," Keith grinned at me, with that slight downward flick of the eyes that I craved from him and yet warned him to never ever do again. My body became stiff with anxiety, my heart began pounding harder in my chest and I felt my cheeks flush even hotter. If there's a woman in the world that said she wouldn't blush after getting a look like that from him, I'd be willing to challenge her on it.

Ace may have been half-cut, but he wasn't slow on the uptake. He'd seen Keith's wayward glances and seemed to decide that now was a good time to pay me some attention.

"So what have you been up to today?" he asked me smoothly, abruptly cutting off his conversation with Vince. Vince barely noticed anyway and turned to the other guys to start throwing his two-cents into their conversation instead.

"Doing your housework, as usual," I replied cheekily. I felt his fingers slip under my singlet and snake lightly up the skin of my back, leaving a tingle of goose bumps in their wake. "The sheets needed a good change after last night." They weren't _that_ bad really, but I thought I'd just slip that in there for Sarah's sake.

"Well," he said with a wolfish grin like he was ready to devour every inch of my soul, "what do you say we go home and dirty them up again?" I honestly throbbed to hear him say that, and I wanted to give in to dire temptation, grab him by the hand and drag him back to the car.

But seeing how close Sarah was getting to Keith began to make my stomach do little flip-flops. My suspicions were that she was trying to pull Keith and I together, leaving her free to take Ace again. Now firstly, there was absolutely no fucking way that was gonna happen. But secondly, I wasn't gonna leave there without at least warning Keith about it. Sure, he'd been an ass over the past couple of days, but he was only trying to protect me and he didn't deserve to be messed around.

"Maybe…" I replied, trying to sound enthusiastic without actually agreeing.

I felt his grip tighten around my waist, pulling me in closer, and his stubbly chin brushed across my neck; a move he knows never fails to make me turn to putty in his hands. My eyes closed and I bit my bottom lip with a brief moan as I felt the tip of a wet tongue ride from my lower neck all the way up to my ear lobe. Intoxication pulled me into dreamland again making me feel numb and blasé about what he was doing. All that existed at that moment was the blur of noisy voices throughout Irby's, the smell of booze and cigarettes hanging low in the air, and Ace's mouth slowly sucking away at my neck to distract my attention from his right hand which was mischievously slinking its way up under my bra. That touch knocked me back into full awareness of my surroundings and I curved myself around on him more, forcing his hand to slip out. No one on our side of the table was paying any attention to us and I couldn't give a shit what Sarah saw, but after seeing Keith's glance at me, I was reluctant to let Ace rub it in his his face.

"Alright, let's go," I whispered close to Ace's ear. I just wanted to get out of that awkward situation; I'd just have to leave Keith's fate to chance.

But Ace carried on, and so I repeated myself after thinking that perhaps he hadn't heard me. After still getting no response, I felt his left hand shoot up under my bra and his right arm wrap tightly around my neck, pulling me in close for a pash. I immediately wanted to pull away, but at the same time, didn't want to deny him. So I went along with it, trying to twist myself around on him even more to hide everything, while I'll thought of a good excuse to stop him. The awkwardness was unbearable – especially when I heard Keith clear his throat and Sarah's glass being filled again behind me.

"Jesus, get a room you two," Vince laughed beside us when he finally noticed what was going on. That guy has no reservations… or shame for that matter. But sometimes it comes in handy.

Ace stopped kissing me so he could tell Vince to "fuck off", and his hand slid out from under my shirt so he could use it to raise him a firm middle finger. I took that miniscule moment as an opportunity to excuse myself before he could dive in for round two.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" he grabbed at my wrist as I rolled around off his lap.

"Ace, I've had four shots and two beers. Where do you think?"

"Well, hurry up. I ain't done with you yet," he said before tipping the bottom of his beer bottle high to drain out the last mouthful.

* * *

I didn't hurry though. I thought if I let him cool off a bit then he might lay off me until we got home later. After waiting in the ladies for a while, siting in the only cubicle there with the lid down, Sarah's petite voice shocked me out of my thoughts.

"Cassie, are you in here?" she asked.

I didn't respond at first; it took me a few seconds to get over the initial shock of her following me into the bathroom. My mind raced with a million possibilities of what she could want with me, but there was only one that stood out from the rest – I took a hard swallow as I admitted that it must have something to do with Keith. She had me cornered and I knew that there was nothing else to do but face her. So I reluctantly opened the door of the cubicle and stepped towards the sink, passing her without acknowledgement. The female bathroom in Irby's is small and squishy, with one cubicle and one hand basin only. Sarah was leaning against the bathroom wall next to the sink, twirling a long blond lock in her fingers with a smug look on her face.

"You know Ace came and stayed with me last month, don't you?" she asked with a sinful smile spread across her lips.

"Yeah, what's your point?" I shrugged carelessly, unwilling to give her an inch of satisfaction in seeing me upset by it.

"He told me what you did… with Keith. I think you did more than that though. You slept with him didn't you?" her cool blue eyes looked me over like she was anticipating the moment of guilt to come sweeping over my face.

Well… I must admit… I didn't quite see that one coming. I stood bent over the sink with water flooding over my hands, gaping at her, stunned at her nerve to ask something so personal which was also absolutely none of her business. I suddenly regretted wiping that slate clean…

"No, I didn't. Keith and I are just friends. Hardly even that. But I don't see what business it is of yours." I finished up and flicked the water off my hands after failing to find something to dry them on.

"Oh come on Cassie. I _know_ you did. Even Ace knows it, deep down. Although I know he doesn't want to admit it."

_Woah…_ I knew she wanted me to leave Ace for Keith, but this was coming at it from an entirely different angle to what I'd expected.

"Don't try to tell me what Ace thinks. He can speak his own mind well enough."

"Well, isn't it obvious? I mean, do you _really_ think Ace would go as far as sleeping with me if he truly believed that all you did was _kiss_ Keith? You can't really blame him for not wanting to admit it though. I mean, what guy _would_ want to admit that their girlfriend's screwed around on him and then thought him stupid enough to believe the lies she told to cover it up?"

_What the fuck?!_

"Wow… you are one shit-stirring bitch…" I was stunned, shocked, dumbfounded. My head spun like crazy as I tried to comprehend the complete load of horse shit she'd just scooped up from nowhere and flung at me. And I didn't know the first place to start on cleaning it up… It was then that I realized what I was dealing with here – this was no ordinary disheartened teenage girl… this bitch wanted to wreak havoc. And boy, I didn't feel sorry for her anymore… but I certainly felt sorry for any girl who was less than resilient, that'd crossed her firing line in the past.

"I just think if you and Ace are ever to have a solid relationship you're gonna have to front up to your wrongdoings. Ace doesn't like secrets you know Cassie…"

Sarah may have stood there acting like she knew what she was talking about, but I refused to hear any more. It was time to tell her where to go. "OK, firstly… who the fuck asked you? And secondly I know Ace far better than you ever will so stop trying to fucking patronize me. Besides, I don't have anything to hide - I tell him everything."

"Oh yeah? Are you gonna tell him about how you were basically drooling over Keith tonight? About how hot you are for him? Don't try to lie again – I know a look of envy when I see one."

"You know what? You're poison. And this conversation's over…" I said taking a step towards the door.

"Ace will find out one way or another… in fact, I think he already knows," she whispered with venom, her ice blue eyes spiked with spite. "Gee Cassie, you sure do have a lot on your plate, and I'm feeling pretty good to not be you right now."

"Don't think you can play your mind games with me and win. I'll outsmart you any day."

"I'm not trying to play games… I'm just making observations," she grinned innocently.

I took a calming breath and prepared to speak with composure, yet with just the right hint of malice in my voice to make an impact – I had to. I had to stand up to her and put her in her place. Because there was no doubt in my mind that once she smelt blood, she'd keep stabbing at me every which way until I was drowning in it. I had to put an end to this _now._ "Oh yeah? Well here's my 'observation'. Ace is done with you – you're history. You're no more important to him than some insignificant stray dog that keeps hanging around and bugging him for attention. He was never _that_ into you Sarah and now he's moved on, so I suggest you do the same. And whatever you're trying to do to fuck with my relationship, you'd better back off or I'm gonna make you. Because Ace and I, we've only just begun. I'm never leaving him and he's never taking you back. So my advice to you, is the sooner you get that drilled through your conniving little mind, the better off you'll be."

Sarah's cheeks flushed scarlet and her light blues flared at me with hate. I'd obviously hit a nerve or two… well perhaps taken to her aorta with a machete would be a closer analogy. Because she knew that was the truth, and the truth stings like a bitch…

"Oh, and one more thing," I said, taking an intimidating step towards her, towering over her as a show of supremacy. "Stay the fuck away from Keith. He doesn't need to be caught up in this childish bullshit you're playing. He's way too good for you."

* * *

Ace was at the bar with a few more shots lined up in front of him, so I decided to wait with Eyeball and Vince at the pool table until he was done. My confrontation with Sarah had left me feeling nervous and jittery, although I couldn't pinpoint why at first. Too much was said – most of it a concoction of shit – and it all swirled around in my head as I tried to back away from my emotions and look at it all logically. Although I knew very well she'd tried to play mind games with me, and although I knew I was above that, a question weighed on my mind, toying with me – did I really have anything to be worried about?

My head was muddled with intoxication, exhaustion and emotion. I just wanted to go home – to get out of that place and away from _her_. But then I glanced over at Keith again who was still sitting there, talking to Charlie across the table, probably waiting for Sarah to come back, probably wanting to take her home with him. The thought made me sick to my stomach because, for the first time, I felt like I really knew her. At least that's one thing that was crystal clear in my mind - Sarah was a clever piece of work.

"Keith, we need to talk," I said firmly, after rushing to the booth to demand a word with my friend, before Sarah could get to him first.

"What about?" he asked, instantly becoming concerned. That's another good thing about Keith… he always takes me seriously.

But before I could get another word in, Sarah came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. "Excuse me Cassie," she said politely, as if we hadn't just had a raging argument in the bathroom. "Can I please get through?"

I didn't want to play some fabricated 'politeness' game though. Fuck that. "Fuck off bitch, I need to talk to Keith."

The conversation between the guys on the other side of the booth drizzled out in an instant and they all gaped at me eager to find out what was going on.

"I'm sorry… did I do something wrong?" she grinned still paying innocent.

"I'm not letting you do this," I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to keep a bold presence about myself that spoke strength. "You're a conniving, conspiring, shit-stirring bitch and I ain't letting you anywhere near him."

Keith looked quietly content to see me get all protective over him, but the guys cracked into fits of drunken laugher. "Bitch fight, bitch fight," they all started to chant louder and louder, which was sure to attract Ace's attention behind us at the bar if he hadn't noticed something was up already.

"Well, if that doesn't confirm my observations, then I don't know what does," she grinned proudly. "I'm sorry Keith, but I think I ought to go." She leaned across the table in front of me, kissed two of her fingers and pressed them to his lips. He just shrugged, obviously still curious about these 'observations' she'd mentioned. "Thanks for the drinks. I hope to see you again." And then after aiming one final smug smirk in my direction, she turned her back and strolled into the crowd, disappearing in an instant.

"What was that all about?" Keith asked me, still with a clear look of concern.

"Come with me, I need some fresh air," I said, extending my hand to him as a suggestion to talk in private. He took my hand and I pulled him, not that it would've helped much in shifting his bulk out of the booth.

My nose, lungs, and my head, welcomed the fresh air of the back alleyway as I sucked it in deep. Irby's was hot with the density of bodies in such a small space and I felt relief wash over me as we stepped out. It was too noisy for this type of conversation anyway; one where I'd possibly just ruined Keith's plans for the night – if she actually would've let him get that far.

Keith and I leant back against the nearest car, Keith with his hands in his front pockets and me scratching my head, wondering how I was gonna put this.

"So are you gonna tell me what that was all about?" he asked. He showed no sign that he was annoyed with me for making Sarah leave; in fact, he looked suspiciously smug about it.

"Keith, I don't really know how to put this, but… can you please promise me you won't go there? She's evil…"

"Oh really? She seemed OK to me…"

"She ain't. She's fucked in the head."

"Is that right?" he stifled a laugh, bearing his winning grin.

"She's just trying to use you to get to me."

"Why would she be trying to get to _you_?"

"Because it's all part of her plan to get rid of me. All of tonight, all she did was try to get a reaction of out me that Ace wouldn't like so he'd get all pissed off at me, dump me, leaving him free for her to snake her way back to again. And don't even get me started on her other plans… it's all just one big mind-fuck."

"Sounds like she _is_ a bit conniving then, ain't she?"

"I'm tellin' you, I'm still shocked myself. And the way she was acting all nice at the end there, like nothing had happened? Dam, I couldn't believe that! You… believe me, right?"

"Of course I believe you. I wasn't born yesterday Cass, I knew exactly what she was trying to do. Although… I think you were showing a little more 'reaction' that you realized. And I must say… it sure was flattering to watch you get all jealous over it." He flicked his eyes over me again from head to waist and my throat gulped dryly in denial.

"I wasn't jealous…" Knowing that was a lie of my own, the words came out half-heartedly which made the lie even easier for Keith to pick up on.

He turned to lean sideways on the car with his right arm up on the roof, his deep blue eyes gazing at me seriously and with desire. "Sarah's not my type Cass. I prefer a girl with a bit of… maturity," he briefly stroked my chin between his thumb and forefinger and I felt my heart swell as it surged one large pump of blood through it, delivering the lot to my cheeks.

My mouth opened to reply, but my throat felt too dry to speak. "You know that can't happen," I finally squeaked out.

"What can't happen?" Ace emerged from the back door to Irby's just feet away from us. His voice spoke softly and calmly, but it still made me jump out of my skin.

"Umm… I was just trying to warn Keith about Sarah. Jesus Ace, you could've at least warned _me_ a little… do you know how scheming that girl is?"

"I'm not too concerned about that right now to be honest," he said, flicking his cigarette butt high and far across the back alley. "I'm more concerned about Keith pulling you out here, out of my sight."

"Well, to be honest… I pulled _him_ out. I just wanted to talk to him and I needed some fresh air. Plus it's so hard to hear in there, you know? But, you know what? We're all done now, so… let's head back huh?"

Ace didn't try to stop me, and I should've realized that I'd just left those two alone in a back alley, to go for that rumble they'd been thirsting for earlier. But the thought didn't even cross my mind - I was far too tense and panicked about Ace popping out of nowhere just as Keith decided to push his luck.

I reentered the main room to see Eyeball and Vince still on the pool table. Vince was shooting so I stood next to Eyeball, my face so hot I must've looked like I'd just run a marathon. "Keith still ain't over you, eh Cass," he laughed drunkenly. "Told you he'll never quit."

"What?" I swallowed dryly before grabbing his bottle off him, taking a huge mouthful and passing it back.

Ace and Keith reentered the room not too long afterwards, probably after a word of their own. Keith walked past me towards the bar with a covert grin and Ace came up behind me and unexpectedly bumped me forwards towards the pool table. He spun me around and with a hand on either hip picked me up and sat me up on the pool table again like he'd done earlier. My heart sank as I saw the look in his eyes – that cold, heartless look that he only wears when he's fucking fuming. When Ace is in that state of mind, there's nothing you can say to soften it – all you can do is keep it zipped and ride it out. Otherwise, you just risk winding him up more and making his mood even worse to bear. His icy blues pierced through me as he grabbed the beer that was beside me, obviously his, and took a mouthful before slamming it down again, making me jolt in fright. He wrapped his arms around my neck, pulling me in tight to speak roughly into my ear. "I told you to stay close to me."

"I know, I'm sorry it was my fault… I didn't think. Sarah and I had an argument and I just…"

"I don't wanna hear about Sarah. I wanna know what happened out there just now."

"Ace… we were only out there for 30 seconds…"

"I don't care; you're _my _girl Cass, no one else's. So you better start talking."

"Well… Sarah… _I_ wanted to warn Keith about Sarah. So I pulled him aside because I needed some fresh air. And I just told him that he shouldn't go there… that's all."

"Did he make any suggestions to you, make any moves on you? And don't try to protect him Cassie…"

"No…" It flew out of my mouth before I could even think it through. I didn't want any more fighting, especially between Ace and Keith, and if I'd said 'yes' then the bar was sure to see some blood that night. Keith wasn't exactly making the right moves to keep the peace, but I felt the need to give him a reprieve for what he did because I knew it wouldn't lead anywhere anyway… OK, maybe because I was being protective. Logic told me that if I'd hesitated on my answer then Ace would know it was a lie for sure, and so in a snap decision the answer came out 'No'. Stupid, stupid me…

"You know what?" Ace said, still leaning close to my ear and speaking to me in a rough voice. "You're a really bad liar. Cos I saw him."

A cold fear came over me unlike anything I'd ever felt before. Even though I trusted Ace not to hurt me, the cold-heartedness and unpredictability of his demeanor left the door open for possibilities. After all, why _did_ everyone think that Ace caused these bruises on me face? And why did I now doubt my own self-trust that he'd never lay a hand on me?

"I think it's about time Keith, and everyone else here for that matter, had a little reminder about who you belong to," he said harshly. "Including you."

"Ace, I'm all yours, you know that," I said firmly, trying to stay strong.

"I know it, but I don't think _you_ do."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Whatever the fuck I like."

At any other time, those words would've been a huge turn on… but he was not playing around. With one leg on either side of him, he'd locked me into place. His arms unraveled from around my neck and lightly snaked their way down my bare arms to take a firm grip of my wrists. Wincing a little, I closed my eyes as he began to neck me again with slow, painful, possessive mouthfuls of skin. As he delivered my punishment more and more viciously, his grip on my wrists clamped tighter, so tight that I couldn't move my fingers because the tendons were being pulled too firmly.

"You don't need to do this," I winced, slowly struggling to make him release his grip.

He let go of my left wrist while tightening the grip on my right even harder; so hard that my whole hand was beginning to feel numb. His mouth popped of my neck and I felt the heat of his right hand on my hip, sliding slowly up the skin of my back underneath my singlet.

"Just shut up and learn your lesson."

He forcibly kissed me with a powerful and demanding tongue that entered my mouth with authority. I tried to pull away from him, but I didn't exactly have much room to move. My legs hung off the edge of the table of either side of him and he was pushing against me so hard that he had to hold me up so I wouldn't topple backwards. My bra went loose around me and wolf-whistles rang out throughout the bar. I had my back to everyone, so I couldn't see, but I pictured the seedy stares of every guy in the bar piercing through me.

"Dibs on next," laughed some random guy walking past. Ace glared at him for a second, before resuming his assault on my mouth. But that was it for me… that was the last straw.

"Ace, let me down…" I mumbled, struggling to both push him off me and pull away from him.

"Not until I'm done," he said through clenched teeth, tightening the grip on my wrist with all his strength.

I felt an emotional tear roll down my cheek and I defiantly turned my head away to make another demand. "Let me down!"

"Ace, let her go. Now." Ace's demonic stare left me and turned its attention to Keith who was standing about two feet away with a composed yet demanding expression.

"You stay put," Ace told me sternly, without taking his eyes off him.

He pushed away from me and released the grip on my wrist which I immediately nursed in my other hand as the feeling in it slowly came back with pins and needles. A blood-red ring ran around it, the reddest and sorest places being on the bones. I just hoped I wouldn't bruise… hoped I wouldn't have a week's reminder about this awful night. I closed my legs, but obediently stayed up on the pool table as Ace ordered, feeling another tear roll – I just couldn't believe any of this was real.

Ace took two small paces forwards towards Keith and said steadily, "What did I tell you five minutes ago? I said stay the fuck away from Cass. And yet, here you are."

"I don't give a fuck what you say," Keith shrugged, keeping his composure with his typical laid-back air about him. "Never have, never will. Besides, Cass deserves better than a possessive, bullying piece of shit like you."

I winced at the words… sure, Keith was a big guy and could handle himself but he had no back up at all. Ace had Vince, Eyeball (who was clearly torn between whose side he should take) and the other guys who'd come over from the booth, hanging around us, ready to back their leader.

Ace's eyes narrowed wickedly and he certainly did look demonic then. Everyone looked on with uncertainty and I almost reached into his back pocket to swipe his switchblade off him. But anyway, that was not to be his weapon of choice. With a fiendish glare he heaved a deciding breath and snapped. He swiftly swiped the beer bottle from beside him on the pool table and there was a quick and blunt _bang!_ as he smashed it on the edge. I jumped with shock with the loudness of the force to the table, as half the bottle shattered into a thousand pieces and beer splattered everywhere, dripping onto the floor. He pointed the sharp edged remains threateningly at Keith, fully intent on using it. The bar went completely silent except for the juke box which could be heard clearly for the first time that night.

But Keith just smirked coolly, not giving Ace one inch of satisfaction to see fear. "What are you gonna do with that? Stab me with it?"

"No. I'm gonna fuckin' kill you with it."

The tears were flowing out of me like waterfalls now, but I barely even noticed them. The scene before me was far too intense, too much to watch, too much to bear. "Ace, stop," I pleaded with him, touching his arm. "Can't we just go home?"

"Not until either he agrees to leave you the fuck alone, or he's laying in a pool of his own blood. I don't give a fuck either way."

"Son, put down the bottle," came a deep baritone voice beside me. Startled, I turned to look and it was the Sheriff of Castle Rock; that asshole who I despised so much for putting me out on the street all those months ago. But at that moment, I was so grateful for him coming to break it up that I wanted to hug him. The look of evil didn't leave Ace's eyes and he didn't move a muscle. "Ever take a bullet to the leg son?" the Sheriff asked, pulling his gun from the holster and pointing it low. "Cos you're gonna if you don't drop that bottle, right now."

Ace glanced at the Sheriff and then back at Keith again; I couldn't believe this was such a difficult decision for him to make… But finally, after much deliberation, Ace obeyed and dropped it on the floor at his feet.

"Now, how old are you son?" the Sheriff asked firmly, keeping the gun pointed out in front of him. "And don't lie cos I already know the answer."

"Well why the fuck are you asking me then?" Ace began to mouth off. He knew exactly where the Sheriff was heading on this one.

"Because, I've got the gun, and I've got the power. So answer my question."

"Nineteen," Ace reluctantly gave in.

"You know what the drinking age is boy?"

"Twenty-one."

"That's right. So now, you and all your underage friends can leave quietly. And I don't wanna see any of your faces in here again until you've got some ID. Got it? Now get out."

The Sheriff finally holstered his gun and Ace grabbed my hand, pulling me off the pool table. We moved slowly past him, but it turns out he had one more thing to add to his demands. "Oh, and another thing John… stay away from my daughter."

I swallowed dryly as I wondered who his daughter was and hoped she wouldn't be as much trouble as Sarah had been. If I decided to stick around that was. After this, I wondered who this man was that was leading me through the crowd towards the door. It was like he'd been possessed… controlled by hate.

As we neared the exit, Ace noticed the guy who'd leaked the comment earlier about having 'dibs on next'. He roughly dragged me behind him, not willing to let me out of his control for a second, as he approached him. The guy bore a look of concern for only a brief moment before Ace stepped close and socked him hard in the stomach, spending every piece of anger built up within him. The guy buckled forwards in agony, spitting out that he was sorry between winded breaths, but no one around him was about to argue with what Ace had done.

As Ace opened the front door to drag me out, out of bizarre instinct I glanced over to my left. Sarah was there, sitting among the crowds, a sly grin of satisfaction spread wide across her smug little face – she was probably sitting there, just waiting to watch the fireworks.

* * *

**A\N: *pants like she's just run a marathon* So what did you think? I hope it came across clear enough and wasn't too complicated or confusing. Cos you know... that's just me :)**


	27. Chapter 7: No Remorse

**No Remorse**

* * *

The house was dead silent when I woke at my usual time of around noon the next day and that gave me a glimmer of hope that I was home alone. I'd barely slept a wink throughout the night and only found myself dropping off as the morning began to light up the walls of the spare room. After a terrible sleep I stumbled out feeling groggy and sore, crossing my fingers that Ace wasn't around. I peeked through the crack in his bedroom door to see nothing but an unmade mess of sheets and blankets on the bed, and then checked out the front to see that the '49 was gone. A small sigh of relief escaped me to know that I was by myself, because I just wasn't ready to face him after what had happened the night before…

* * *

The door to Irby's flew open and Ace stormed out of there, his ice blue eyes raging with bitter resentment, dragging me behind him with my good wrist in his firm grip. The Cobra's flooded out of the door behind us, anxious to see what their leader was gonna do next. I didn't know what happened to Keith – he was well over the drinking age so was legal to stay, but the Sherriff could've kicked him out for brawling all the same. Ace dragged me to the'49 which was parked in the strip out of the front of the Blue Point Diner before finally letting me go. There was no doubt that we'd be going back to his place… alone… and I was feeling very wary about being taken to such a secluded area when he was nowhere near in his right mind. But when I hesitated to get in, all it took was one glance from him to tell me that the consequences of refusing to go with him would be far worse than agreeing. So I reluctantly swallowed my fears and obeyed him as the Cobra's stood around us on the sidewalk, silent about their concerns.

"When he leaves the bar, you grab him and gimme a call," Ace said to them as he fired the ignition.

A few nods went around and Vince wisely took off around the back to watch the back door. After seeing what Ace had done to Kyle just a few days earlier I was concerned for Keith, but there was nothing I could do about it. I had to focus on me… I had to play my cards right with Ace or risk getting worse than what he'd given me already.

The tires screamed as he peeled out, and I grabbed the dash in shock as he suddenly swung the car 180 onto the other side of the road, right in front of an old pickup truck. It slammed on its brakes to avoid rear-ending us and Ace didn't even blink at the close collision. After I'd calmed down from the momentary panic attack, I gripped the side of the door hard and prepared myself for the rest of, what was sure to be, a wild ride home.

We flew through the center of town doing at least 50, and then he sank his foot to the floor once we hit the open highway. His gaze of fury continued to stare straight at the road ahead of him and I wondered and feared what was going through his mind at that moment. As his driveway came into view I expected him to ease off the gas, but his foot stayed flat right up until the turn. I grabbed the dash again just as he slammed his foot on the brake and skidded the rear of the car outwards, burning rubber as the tires slid hard on the dry road. He threw down another burst of acceleration at the top of the driveway before planting his foot on the brake, snaking down the gravel until we finally came to a jerking stop. Without so much as a look at me, he got out and slammed his door so hard the car quivered.

"Get the fuck in the house," he bellowed without glancing back.

With my heart still pounding away in my chest, I watched him trot up onto the low deck and half push, half kick open the front door. I just sat there in the car for a couple of minutes, my mind racing as I fretted through my options. Options… hah – I had no options. There was nowhere to run out there, nowhere to hide. Even if I'd tried, my defiance would've only added to his rage. Part of me clung to the false hope that I could slip into one of the bedrooms and brood there while Ace stayed away from me and simmered down in his own time. I hate dealing with Ace well enough when he gets in a sour mood, let alone when he's in a rage. Avoiding him is the best thing to do when he's like that, because any attempt to calm him only winds up having the opposite effect. But somehow, I doubted he'd simply let me slunk away after what had already happened – I knew he wouldn't be done with me just yet.

After a deep breath to help calm my nerves I climbed out of the car, then slowly and cautiously approached the house. I tried to move quietly but the low, tatty front deck creaked as I stepped across it, to peer inside though the open doorway.

"Where do your loyalties lay, Cass?" His calm yet hostile voice made my heart leap as I realized he was leaning against the wall right beside the front door, waiting for me to enter.

"They lie with you of course." I stepped inside and gave him a small reassuring smile, but as expected, Ace's harsh glare didn't ease up in the slightest. His stormy blue eyes narrowed and I felt my muscles tense up as I braced myself, just waiting for him to lash out in response.

"Bullshit." Next thing I knew, he'd grabbed me and was pushing me through the house into his bedroom. Then with one last forceful shove, he threw me face down on the bed and got up on top to straddle me, his weight holding me in place as I struggled underneath him.

"Ace, what you doing?" I yelled up at him, half my mouth muffled by sheet and mattress. "Can you get off me so we can talk about this properly?"

His chest came to rest lightly on my back as he lent forwards down close, and his arm slipped under my throat in a strangle hold, but without applying any force. I couldn't believe he was taking things so far; whatever I did, I was sure I didn't deserve this…

"Now you listen to me. Twice I was gonna fuck up that son-of-a-bitch tonight, and both times you tried to jump in and save him. That, and fucking lying to me for him ain't showin' me no loyalty. In fact, that's showin' me that your loyalties lie with him."

"No, they don't," I stressed to him with all sincerity. "I know I lied to you, and I'm sorry. But, I just wanted to handle things with Keith myself. If I just had a chance to talk to him then I think I could…"

His arm tightened around my neck a fraction, and I winced as I felt the strangle coming on to choke me slightly. "When someone's hittin' on my girl, she don't handle things. I handle things. And besides, you've done nothin' but lead him on."

"What? Are you fucking serious? I told Keith long ago that I could never let you go and all up until tonight he'd respected that. Now I don't know why he's suddenly decided to push his luck but…"

Then without warning, Ace put the strangle hold on hard enough to completely cut off my air supply. I freaked out and began wriggling and grabbing at his arm, trying to pull it off me. "Stop fucking lying to me! You know exactly why he did what he did tonight. Keith and Sarah were both testing you; I know they were… and you failed miserably. That's why he _pushed his luck_, cos you gave him reason to."

Nothing gets past Ace and it was about time I leant that. I wasn't sure what he'd seen exactly, but I couldn't deny that what he'd said was true. My wayward stares were what had gotten Keith's attention and, frivolous as they were, he'd taken them as a signal.

Panic was starting to set in and I kept grabbing and writhing underneath him, desperate for my next breath. "You'd better fucking nod that you know I'm right before you pass out…" The tightness around my neck was beginning to make me feel woozy, and I did my best to nod despite being held so firm. "Well now we're gettin' somewhere." He finally released me and slipped his arm out from under my neck as I gasped for breath, coughing and sucking air into my lungs.

"How could you do that to me?" I whimpered in a raspy voice, rubbing my throat to help soothe the irritation.

"I don't like being lied to, that's the bottom line. Now, I don't want you seein' him and I don't want him comin' 'round here anymore. If you still wanna be sellin' to him you'd better work somethin' else out fast. Cos if he steps foot onto this property again I'll make him disappear into thin air."

I sulked about it, but I knew there was nothing I could do to change his mind. It meant I'd need to find someone else to make the deliveries, and the only person I could think of would be Eyeball. But if he couldn't do it, then I didn't know what I'd do.

"So can you get off me now?" I sulked, my resentment for him clear in my voice.

"No… I ain't done with you yet." I felt his hand slip under my hip to undo to the button on my shorts and I began to struggle again as he tugged at the waistband to get them down. "Been a while since I've done you in this position, ain't it?"

"Ace, get the fuck off me..."

"Why are you being such a resistant little bitch tonight? Keith ain't around to see us anymore you know…"

"What's that supposed to mean? You just fucking choked me! And now you wanna screw me? Go screw yourself…"

"You'd better watch your mouth Cass. Or I might just give it to you a whole lot rougher than what you're used to."

Still straddling me, he shuffled down to sit on my thighs and grabbed the sides of my shorts to pull them down. But I was so enraged with him for trying to exert his dominance over me that I grabbed the side of the mattress and hauled myself overboard. My upper body hung over the side with my legs still pinned under him, until he finally got off and let me drop to the floor where I landed hard onto my stomach. I rolled onto my back and he instantly grabbed me, hauled me up, swung me around and threw me onto his bed on my back. I moved to get up but he jumped on top to straddle me again, pinning both my wrists above my head.

"Why are you being like this?" I was desperately trying to stay tough, but as I became more and more frustrated with being held against my will, I could feel my emotions beginning to well up.

"Because you crossed me tonight. And if you ain't on my side, stickin' by me, then why the fuck should I treat you any better?"

The penny finally dropped as to why he was so mad with me, and I felt my body turn limp as I began to comprehend it. All Ace wanted from me, was to be his. I thought I had been, but really… the way I'd been acting was far from it. For one thing, he wanted my eyes to be for him only which was fair enough. I mean, he eyes up other girls all the time and I hate it, but it's not like it's ever something serious that I should worry about. Keith on the other hand, was dead serious about what he wanted – and for me to encourage it (even though that wasn't my intention) was a worry for Ace and I felt terrible about it.

More importantly though, Ace wanted me to be on his side and support him in whatever he thought was best. Now, stabbing a guy in a bar in front of a couple of hundred witnesses is not a genius idea, nor it is something that I'd ever condone. But questioning him on it isn't what he sees as backing him up. I'd been jumping in to defend Keith all night: I'd stopped Ace from taking him out for a rumble in the back ally, tried to talk him out of stabbing him, and even worse… pushed Ace away just so Keith wouldn't have to see us together. Fuck did I feel bad about that…

But admitting I'd done wrong was one thing, being subjected to taking such harsh punishment for it was another. Yes, I could take being yelled at, and I could work around being banned from seeing Keith. But being choked was just so over the fucking top that I didn't even know how to deal with it. And then things just went from bad to worse…

"OK, I get it. I get why you're so angry with me," I said as he stripped me from the waist down. "But can we please just talk about this some more?"

"I'm done talking." He crawled over top of me, his eyes appearing vacant of all feeling, glazed over with fury.

I tried to roll over, but he held me firm and slipped an arm under my knee. There was no getting out of this; it wouldn't matter how much I begged or cursed at him, he was determined to finish what he'd set out to do – punish me. He took me brutally hard, making me cry out a little from the sudden force, but he ignored it and shoved in deeper.

"You're really hurting," I moaned quietly, trying to inch myself upwards to stop him from going in so far.

"Feels pretty fuckin' good for me."

I wanted to slap him across the face so hard right then, but I feared getting one back a hundred times harder. Anger and rage poured out of him as he unapologetically pounded against me, not caring about anything else but making me suffer the consequences. And I was suffering alright… after a while it hurt so bad that I feared he might actually cause some damage, or at least put me out of action for a while.

Then finally, after what seemed like hours he gave one final, powerful thrust and I felt him explode. After falling in a sweaty heap on top of me, he rolled onto his back breathing heavily while I lay there motionless with tears welling up in my eyes and rolling down into my ears. I was in severe pain, but I thought congratulating him for being the worst lay since I lost my virginity was probably not a good idea.

"Ace," I whispered after a while, "I wanna be your girl in the way you want me to be; I really do. But this is too much…"

He turned his head to look at me, his face still swathed with bitter fury. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying… that you'll be lucky if I'm still here when you wake up in the morning."

"Is that right? Well fuck you Cassie." He rolled off the bed, found his pants, and then grabbed his cigarettes off the dresser before slamming the bedroom door behind him.

I lay there staring at the door for a good five minutes, the tears still streaming uncontrollably down my cheeks like endless rivers. What had just happened hardly seemed real; I was sure I was gonna wake up soon – I was so sure. But, I never did.

I figured Ace would head straight out to pay Keith a visit, and after what had just happened between us, boy… I was scared for the guy. But there was nothing I could do for him and so I just tried not to think about it and did the next best thing.

The lukewarm water washing over my hot sweaty face was the most refreshing feeling ever. I must've stood there for half an hour under the cool spray, draining the rest of my tear ducts and willing away the memories of the last few hours. I couldn't believe just how cold that bastard had been to me. I didn't really want to leave him, but what else could I do? How could I possibly risk this happening again? Keith had been right with that advice - _"You let him get away with it once and next thing you know he's doin' it all the time."_

Home was the most logical place to escape to, but my abdomen was so sore that I knew I'd never make it all the way home on foot. I felt like I was having severe period cramps, and I wasn't surprised to have seen a dark reddish mix to the semen as it had leaked out of me. So, I thought _fuck him_ and went to grab the keys to the truck off the table… but then noticed that the keys to the '49 were still there too. And then I realized that I hadn't actually heard him leave… I'd just assumed.

Slowly and quietly I stepped around the table to the front door, which was still wide-open from when we'd come in. I poked my head out and looked around to see if I could see him anywhere. In a black T-shirt and jeans he was hard to spot at first, but a movement of blonde hair finally gave him away. He was sat down on the end of the deck with a cigarette burning in one hand and his head in the other. I so badly wanted to go to him and fix things, and I nearly took the first step out… but I knew that I shouldn't. If he wanted things fixed, he'd have to come to me.

* * *

After failing to find Ace in the house the next day, I knew there were only two places he could be. Either paying Keith a visit, or at Markus's place finishing off the cars so they could be shipped out to make room for the next lot in two days' time. Either way, I had to make my mind up quickly on what to do – to stay, or go. I looked into his bedroom again where everything had happened and just the sight of it told me that I needed to get away. I needed to clear my head and think things through and there was only one place I could go to do that – my place.

I knew Ace wouldn't like it, but I decided to take the truck anyway. My abdomen was far too sore to walk five miles, and since he'd caused it, I didn't care what he thought. But when I went to grab the keys off the table, they were no longer there from the night before. After thoroughly checking the house for them, I gave in to thinking that Ace had taken them with him to either stop me from leaving or to stop me from stealing his truck. And unfortunately for me, not only were the keys missing, but he'd been vigilant enough to take my lock picks too.

So, that only left one option – walking home. Sure, my abdomen wasn't feeling too good, but I wasn't gonna hang around there and wait for Ace to come home and give me a repeat. Fuck that. So, I pulled my runners on, took a long drink of water and then headed out the front door. But just as stepped off the deck, an unfamiliar rumble from down the highway filled my quiet surroundings. It could've been anyone heading up the road so I didn't pay any attention to it at first, until it began to slow down.

"Geez, doesn't this guy ever take a hint?" I mumbled as a near new Harley Davidson turned in and rolled down the gravel. At least he was still alive though… in fact, he didn't look like he'd even been in a fight. Perhaps the guys hadn't caught up with him yet after all.

"Keith, you have to go," I yelled over the noise of the engine before the bike came to a halt and had its engine killed, leaving the property in complete silence again. Remembering the bruises on my wrist, I folded my arms in an awkward way in an attempt to cover them.

"Well, nice to see you too." He casually climbed off the bike without a care in the world before putting it on the stand to lean back against.

"I mean it, get outta here. If Ace comes home early and you're here then…"

"Then what? He'll threaten to kill me again? Big fucking deal," he shrugged.

"You need to stop underestimating him. When he gets into a rage like he was in last night, there's no predicting what he might do."

"If that asshole wants a rumble, he can bring it on. I can handle him."

"Dammit Keith, don't you know how difficult you're making things for me?"

"Why? Why are you even staying with him after what he did to you last night? Have you seen the state of your neck?"

"I… I don't know what I'm doing. And anyway, it's none of your business." I moved to step past him, but he stood from the bike and touched my arm to stop me.

"Where you goin'? Need a ride anywhere?"

"I'm goin' home for a few days. I need to clear my head. And no, I'm fine thanks."

"You sure? It's no trouble…"

"I don't think being around you is such a good idea right now."

"Ace don't own you, you know. Now come on, I'll take you the back route instead of goin' through town if you're worried about someone seein'."

Even though I knew going with him was insane… possibly even suicide… I looked the bike over and began to consider his offer. My biggest concern was the risk of someone seeing and Ace finding out – back route or no back route. But on the other hand, walking all that way with my abdomen in pain definitely wouldn't be much fun.

"You ever been on the back of a bike before?"

"Well… no. I guess that's one thing I've never…"

"Then come on," he encouraged. "It's the best, freest feeling in the world. You wanna clear your head, well there ain't no better way."

My instincts were screaming at me not to, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to rebel and go do it – especially after the way Ace had treated me. Keith sat eyeing me attentively, and once he read that I was about to give in, he took it as cue to make it happen. He swung his leg over the seat and made himself comfortable, taking hold of the handlebars and pulling the bike off the stand.

"You'll have a blast. Trust me," he grinned. Seeing that I was still hesitant, he reached for my wrist which was covered in my tightly folded arms with the intent of pulling me closer. But I winced as he took hold of it and pulled away from him. "What's the matter?" he asked, quickly grabbing hold of it again, forcing me to let him take a better look. "Jesus Cass, is that what Ace did to you last night?" Of course, that wasn't the half of it, but I wasn't about to fill him in on the details.

"It's not that bad… I just bruise easily."

"Why are you making excuses for him?" he asked in disgust.

"Mind your own business…" I said quietly, feeling somewhat ashamed about it all.

"Get on the back," he demanded, lobbing a thumb behind him.

Feeling too embarrassed and guilty to argue, I gave in and stepped forwards. It felt so wrong on so many levels, but at the thought of how Ace had choked and ruthlessly pounded away on me, I quickly stopped caring. I _carefully_ swung my leg over the bike and felt a tingle of excitement pass through me. I'd never been on a motorbike before, but I'd always wanted to, and now I had my chance. Keith glanced behind him, low at either side of his hips and I wasn't sure what he was doing at first. Then he found each of my hands and pulled them both tight around his waist. "You're gonna need to hold onto something." _Yeah… right._ I was sure he was just loving this…

"Just hurry up OK? Sittin' here's makin' me nervous." I assumed Ace would be at Markus's place, but he could still unexpectedly pull into the driveway at any moment.

The rumble of the engine came on strong and loud under us, and as he revved it a couple of times I couldn't help but beam with enthusiasm.

"Always keep your feet up," he warned, "and hold on tight."

He slowly turned us around 180 to face the road, and then with a sudden surge of energy, threw down the throttle and swung the ass of the bike out, peeling up the gravel, spraying it in a wide arc behind us. Stones scattered all over the front deck and I worried that Ace might get suspicious that someone else had been there. But as a shot of adrenaline kicked into me hard, I quickly quit caring. We powered up the drive and turned left away from town before travelling up the main highway.

Keith rolled us at a cruise which made the ride feel scenic and laid back, and I gazed around, lapping up the vision of blue sky against expansive farmland. It wasn't at all like being in a car, not even a convertible like the '49. All that lay under you was road, and all that surrounded you was the warm fresh wind.

"Enjoying it?" he called back to me.

"I'm loving it!" I grinned from ear to ear.

"I thought I'd better check I hadn't lost you. You're so light back there I can barely feel you," he laughed.

I knew I shouldn't do anything to encourage him, but I was feeling so carefree at that moment that I tightened my grip around his waist to give him an appreciative hug. He couldn't hug me back of course, so he instead gave my hands a knowing pat in reply.

The adjacent highway that would take us around the back of Castle Rock seemed to come up fast. Keith slowed and gracefully took the left turn before cruising down the next stretch of road. The countryside and hills in the far distance took my breath away. There was just something about seeing it all from the back of a motorbike that made it all the more delicious. I noticed another highway road coming up to our right, but didn't care for it until Keith began to slow down.

"What, you're not turning here are you?" I didn't know the roads around here, but I had enough bearings about me to know that this was not the way home.

He made the turn and then began to accelerate down the long stretch of road which was so straight and so flat that it simply disappeared over the horizon ahead of us.

"Keith, where are you going? You're supposed to be taking me home, remember?"

"I will Cass, soon. But I got somethin' else to show you."

"OK…"

"I want you to free your mind. Just forget about everything."

"What?"

"Hold on tight. This is gonna rock your world."

I had no idea what he was on about, but I'd come this far so figured I'd just run with it. I was feeling too relaxed and comfortable to care much anyway, and I did trust him to get me home eventually…

After he felt me tighten my grip around him, he leant forwards a little and began to slowly increase the throttle. The speedo was hidden from my view so I couldn't see how fast we were travelling, but with my hair whipping up behind me and the pasture and fence lines zipping past so fast they'd become a blur, I had some idea. Faster and faster we flew until Keith was gunning it like there was no tomorrow. We were soon surging through the air at such a rate that it was scary and yet incredibly exhilarating at the same time. It was insane to think that one slip up would surely kill us both but I didn't complain – I trusted Keith enough to know what he was doing. As we sailed down that dead straight road towards the horizon at unthinkable speeds, he let out a short "woohoo!" and I followed with a longer one, as the adrenaline of the ride spread a crazed grin across my face.

I remembered what he said about freeing my mind, but when I closed my eyes I realized that my mind was already free. Ace, Chris, and everything that had happened over the past few weeks just vanished into nothingness. Even what had happened with Ace the night before didn't seem to matter at all. The only things that seemed important in life were the road, the flat dry landscape that stretched for miles, the hills beyond them and the air that I was breathing. I felt like I'd been taken back to ground level, willing to forget the dramas and come back to focus on what was important.

Keith began to slow down and I realized just how dry my eyes were, and also how much my cheeks hurt from grinning so hard. When he finally turned the bike around, a new flood of excitement filled me, because I just couldn't wait to do it all over again on the way back. But just as I was expecting him to speed up, he instead slowed to a halt and killed the engine.

"What'd you think of that?" he asked climbing off, beaming at me.

"That was fucking amazing!" I yelled up to sky, and he laughed, glad that I was enjoying myself instead of cursing at him for not taking me straight home.

"Get off, take a walk around, lap up the scenery."

I did as he said, carefully, and strolled a fair way up the road to stare into the countryside. The sky was a gorgeous blue with the hills hazy in the far distance, and the only sound was of the warm breeze brushing past my ears. The view was a stunning sight to behold. There were no cars or houses in sight, and it was so quiet and so remote that it felt like we were the only people on earth. I glanced back at Keith, who'd walked a fair way down the road in the opposite direction, and saw him staring into the distant hills with a faraway look and his thumbs in his back pockets. After a while, he glanced over at me and we stood there just gazing at each other, happily sharing the moment. And it was then that I realized exactly what I liked about him so much – we understood each other. That's why we connected.

We eventually wandered back to the bike and I expected him to jump on, but instead he leant back against it, staring silently at me with his typical laid-back air about him.

"What's up?" I asked, already with a hunch.

"Cassie," he said, his eyes flicking slyly over me from head to toe. "I think it's about time you and me lay some stuff on the table."

"I should've expected this, shouldn't I?" I bit my lip and stared back towards the hills, not quite sure how I was gonna handle it. The night before I'd felt confident with telling Keith where to go. But now, after we'd been having such a good time together, and after Ace had hurt me in countless ways, I was completely torn on what to do.

"Probably," he grinned. "I guess what I wanna know is, are we ever gonna get a shot?"

"I'm not ready for this conversation yet…"

"Hey, that's OK – I ain't tryin' to put pressure on you, I just wanna know how you feel."

But telling him how I felt about him wasn't that straight forward. If Ace didn't exist I'd be on Keith like a pit-bull on a rump roast – that was the honest truth. But I wasn't sure if admitting that to him was such a good idea. There'd be no harm in it if I knew for sure that Ace and I were over, but I still hadn't made up my mind on that. But if I told Keith the truth and then went back to Ace it'd probably only cause me more trouble. Not only that, but it'd be heartless to lead Keith down the garden path and then shoot him down at the end of it.

"I don't know about this…"

"Just be honest with me. I wanna know how you really feel, what you're really thinking. Cos when a girl looks at me like that, and when that girl's you… I can't just turn my back on it."

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I didn't mean to look at you like that last night… it was a mistake."

"It was only a mistake because of Ace, but what if Ace weren't in the picture? Would it have been a mistake then?"

"Keith, you're a cool guy and I love hanging out with you, and yeah… I like you a fucking lot more than I should. And if Ace wasn't in the picture I'm sure things would be completely different between you and me. But he _is_ there and I just can't let him go that easily."

"What is it about him that you can't let go of? Why are you _so_ fuckin' drawn to him, that he can treat you like shit and you'll forget all about it like it's nothing?"

"I'm not forgetting about anything. In fact… he's got a lot to answer for, for what he did to me last night." I stared out into the hills again for a moment to help me soften away the memories.

"But he don't care about you Cass," Keith said, placing his large hand on my cheek. "Not like I do." My heart began pounding so hard I could hear the blood rushing past my ear drums. My instincts told me to pull away, but all I could do was stand there indecisively while this thumb tenderly grazed my cheekbone. "I've got a lotta of regrets in my life, and I know I've been comin' on a bit strong but, if I don't at least try, it'll just be another regret to add to my long list."

"That's really sweet, but…"

"And that time I kissed you, I'm really sorry I caused you hurt, but that's one thing that I don't regret."

"That was a mistake. A huge mistake that I'm still getting grief over to this day…"

"I'd look after you. You know that right? And after everything you've been through in your short life, you deserve someone that's gonna treat you good. I've never really erm… connected with a woman before. But you and me, it just feels right, don't it? I'd love you exactly how you deserve to be loved. And I do, I love you Cass. I love everything about you."

"You… what?" I whispered like my breath had just been stolen away from me. My heart had been pounding hard before, but now it thudded like I had a mini-sized giant sprinting around in my chest. Hearing those words was something I'd been craving for, for weeks, even though I hadn't realized it until then. But unfortunately for Keith, he wasn't the one I'd been craving to hear them from. I wasn't sure if I'd _ever_ hear those words from Ace though, even if he did actually feel that way about me which I wasn't entirely certain of. And for that reason I was left feeling more torn between them than ever before. "Please don't make things difficult…" I pleaded with him.

He stood from the bike and took a step closer, bringing his other hand up to cup my face. "Has Ace ever told you that? Does Ace ever tell you how beautiful you are? Your big brown eyes, perfect smile. God I love it when you smile."

"Keith, just stop OK?" I finally pulled away and turned my back on him, unable to keep looking him in the eye. I'd never been what you'd a call a romantic, but I admit that hearing him say those things to me, made me weak at the knees. He was trying me hard, and I could feel myself beginning to crack under the pressure.

I felt his arms slip around my waist and he pulled me back against his chest. It felt so good that I found myself powerless to resist it, especially since I was so torn over a decision on what to do. Then as I felt his soft lips begin to soothe the bruises that had been trailed across my neck by Ace's dominant ways, my belly twisted nervously into knots and my breathing became heavy as I tried to resist wanting more.

"God I want you so bad Cassie." His hot breath whispered across my ear, spreading a hot flush though my cheeks. He softly traced my jaw with one of his fingers and delicately pulled my chin sideways to face him. I opened my eyes to see his big blues just an inch away, filled with lust and need. And it was at that moment that I made up my mind.

"I can't do this Keith, I'm so sorry…"

Caught up in the heat of the moment, he seemed to ignore me and made the move to kiss me. But I pulled away before his lips reached mine and rolled out of his arms.

"Cass come on," he encouraged, stepping forward and placing his hand on my cheek for attempt number two.

"No, I can't. I have to talk to Ace. And you shouldn't wait for me either. You're too good to…"

"Settle for second best?"

"Yeah. Not that you are second best, you're just…"

"Not Ace."

"Yeah. Geez, you can even finish my sentences…"

"Hey, I ain't lookin' at it like being second best," he shrugged. "You're just being loyal to Ace and I totally understand and respect you for that. But, I just gotta know… you're not just staying with him 'cos he's got you caught up in some sorta crime ring, are you? That's what all that shit was over the other night, right?"

I was still pissed off with myself for opening my big mouth in front of Keith about that, and was expecting a harder lecture from Ace than what I'd got. But I think Ace knew that I understood the severity of it well enough and if anything came of it, well… Keith isn't exactly a goody two-shoes. He'd know that to open his own mouth would come straight back to bite him in the ass. Plus, it was clear that I was just as involved as Ace and Keith knew that if he tried to take him down, I'd be going with him.

"I won't lie to you about that, but that's not the reason why I wanna be with him. I know Ace is really rough around the edges, but… he's done a lot for me Keith. He might not tell me that he cares, but he shows me… most of the time."

"Fuck, he's using you. And when he don't need you no more, he'll just toss you aside like he did that little blond thing in the pub last night."

"I'm not so sure about that… but that's one thing I need to find out."

Keith heaved a sigh as he realized I wasn't gonna budge. "You be careful OK, you hear me? I won't pressure you to tell me exactly what he's up to, but knowing Ace it'll be something hardcore."

"Why, what's he done in the past…?"

"He's your boyfriend, why don't you ask him?"

"Nah, I don't really ask Ace about his past. Besides, all that matters is moving forwards."

"Yeah." Keith looked disappointed with how things had turned out, but he sucked it up and appeared to let it go. "Ready to do the ride back?" he asked with a daring grin.

"Fuck yeah," I grinned back.

The ride home was just as wild as the ride there, only shorter because Keith never slowed to a cruise; he just gunned it the whole way. When we finally reached the edge of town I asked him to pull over and let me walk the rest. It was only a couple of streets, so I was sure I could manage, and I wanted to avoid _anyone_ seeing me with Keith – not just people I knew… anyone. Everyone in the small town would know who I belonged to now and news of me being seen with another guy would surely spread fast.

I carefully climbed off the bike and stood next to Keith who was still grinning his usual sly smile, not appearing to hold an inch of a grudge against me, which I was thankful for.

"You've always been a good friend to me Keith. You're a fuckin' pain in the ass for getting me into trouble all the time, but you look out for me and I want you to know that I appreciate that."

"And I always will. No matter what happens."

"But… you can't keep coming around and showing up out of nowhere like you do. In fact, Ace doesn't want you around there anymore at all."

"So what about the coke?"

"I'm gonna have to get Eyeball to take it to you. And I know that's gonna cut into the profits for a little bit, but if I can get my own car then I might be able to claim back Ace's part in it since I won't be using his. So we'll be back up there again real quick, OK? Is that alright with you?"

"Better than losing it all together I guess."

"OK. And another thing… Ace is pretty intent on paying you back for last night. And I'm worried Keith, I really am. I think he's gonna bring the guys…"

"Hey, don't worry 'bout me," he grinned, knocking me on the chin. "Ace thinks his buddies are tough; well I got bigger, meaner guys on my side. He's the one who needs to watch out."

"That… doesn't exactly put my mind at rest."

"Well, I'm outta town for the next week anyhow. Got a few gigs lined up down in California."

"Wow, that's great. You're gonna go far Keith… I'm such a douche aren't I?"

"You got that right," he said with a serious smile, placing his hand on my cheek again. "Ace don't know what he's got babe. And I hope you'll realize that eventually."

Feeling pretty emotional over the whole thing, I instinctively stepped forwards and threw my arms around him. This was possibly the last time I'd get to talk to him if things turned out alright with Ace, and I knew that I'd miss him. I felt like I was losing Chris all over again. He kissed me on the forehead, told me to look after myself and then he was gone.

I felt so alone at that moment, nervous about facing Ace and uncertain about the future. Keith would've been the easy option. He was laid-back, talented, probably gonna go far in life, and not to mention a complete babe. A relationship with him did feel right in a way; I was sure things would've worked out just swell between us. But I was craving for something more – something that Keith could never give me. And at the time, I had no idea what it was.

* * *

The house was stuffy and warm and I rushed through it to open every window and door so I could breathe again. It had been less than a week since I'd been there, but it felt more like a month. It still felt like my place, but at the same time it felt just as eerily unlived in as when I first moved in after Violet had offered it to me. I'd left it tidy, but it still needed work – the thin layer of dust which coated the surfaces needed cleaning off, the lawns needed mowing and the gardens needed weeding. But I was still sore and definitely not up for any of that, and so I decided to relax for the afternoon and try to get some more sleep. I kicked my runners off and lay down on the sofa, hugging a cushion, enjoying the feeling of being safe, alone, and at home.

A thumb softly grazing against my cheek made me stir and I purred with a sleepy grin. I was still semi-unconscious, at the end of a peaceful dream of the countryside, and Keith's name was right at the tip of my tongue. I was about to say it, but a soft kiss caught my lips to stop me. Lucky. The kiss soon became a little more heated and I finally came to consciousness and sleepily opened my eyes.

"Hey baby." Ace was sitting at the edge of the sofa by my side, gazing down at me an inch away from my face.

"Hey." I smiled up at him at first, not quite awake enough to remember what had happened the night before. But as I came around to full awareness, the memories suddenly came crashing back around me. I tried to sit up and winced a little so Ace helped me, but I don't think he'd clicked onto what was causing my discomfort.

"So, you left…" he said softly. I was beginning to wonder why he was being so nice to me after treating me like he did only hours earlier.

"I came home because I need a few days to clear my head."

"Well I'll tell you somethin'. Any other girl that's ever told me they were gonna walk out on me, I've thrown out before they even get a chance to regret what they said. And once you're out the door with me, there ain't no comin' back in. But, we're on our third shot Cass… and here I am."

"Hmm," I said with a small laugh. "I'm usually the same."

"So'd you walk home? All that way?"

Instant guilt hit me and my blood ran cold at the thought of what I'd done. I mean, I didn't regret any of it, but now I'd have to confess it to Ace… because I couldn't lie to him; not again. Staring down at the carpet, I braced myself and reluctantly told him the truth. "Keith gave me a ride home…" I said quietly.

"He fucking what?" And just like that, '_nice'_ Ace had swooped out of the room again just as quickly as he'd come in.

"Well, he turned up at your place to see if I was alright after last night, and then he asked if I wanted a ride. I said no, but then… I just did."

"Shoulda smacked his fucking head in when I had the chance." Ace then suddenly leapt up from the couch and shot off towards the front door with me standing to call after him.

"He's not there. He's outta town for the week. Gone down to California to play some gigs or somethin'."

He turned back to me with a look of interest that I wasn't entirely trusting of. "Is that so?"

"That's what he told me…"

He nodded slowly and stepped back into the room, pacing his way back to the breakfast bar with his mind clearly occupied over something. "Alright, I'll fuck him over when he comes back then. So why'd you get into the car with him? I'd already told you I don't want you seein' him anymore."

"Well I wouldn't have had to if someone hadn't stolen the keys to the truck this morning." I chose to keep it zipped that it wasn't actually a car…

"Well, maybe I took them for a reason," he said, leaning back against the bench.

"To keep me under your control?"

"To talk about shit when I got home!"

I heaved a sigh and gingerly stepped closer to him to have this _discussion_, hoping that things weren't about to go down that dark road they been to the night before.

"So you wanna sort this?" he asked.

"I wanna try… but only if it doesn't involve me being pinned to the bed…"

"Well, you crossed me and that's what happens," he shrugged. It was no surprise that Ace didn't want to take any blame – he never does. The way he saw it, I'd kicked a bull in the ass and it'd come charging.

"No, you pushed things too far last night, and I ain't puttin' up with that sorta shit Ace. If everyone knew what you did most people would think I'd be crazy to stay with you. I mean, how do I know it won't happen again?"

"You don't have to worry about it happening again. Unless you cross me again, or lie to me the way you did… then we might have a problem."

"Well… that's not good enough. I want your word."

"So what, are you tellin' me that you're gonna lie again? Fuck, have I ever lied to you? Ever? I've always been honest with you about everything. Why the fuck can't I trust you to do the same for me? Is that too much to ask?"

"No… it's not…"

"All I want is for you to stand by me babe. I want you on my side, not workin' against me. I want us to be tight and I know that's what you want too. But that ain't possible if you're backin' up some other guy, lying and undermining me."

"Yeah, I get that now. And you're right; I do want us to be tight. And you shouldn't have to worry about whether I'm being honest with you. I won't do that to you again, OK? I promise."

"Alright then, then you have my word that we'll have no repeats of last night. But you break yours and I'll break mine." He reached out to take my hands and pulled me in tight to wrap his arms low around my waist, but I wasn't completely receptive to it. In my eyes, we were still far from resolving everything that needed to be.

"It's gonna take me a while to get over all this. It's not as easy as you assuring me and then I simply forget it. You were seriously hard on me and I have trouble believing that someone who cares about another person can do that sorta shit to them."

"I know I came down hard on you, and you're a tough chick for takin' it. And you're right; I didn't give a fuck about you last night cos you didn't give a fuck about me," he shrugged. "In fact, you cared more about Keith."

"Yeah, I care about Keith. But only in the same way that I care about any of my friends. If you were beating up on Chris or say, teasing Natalie or whatever, I'd stick up for them just the same. But that's just me and you can't change that. But I know what you're gonna say, that there was more to it than that. And I'm sorry I pushed you away… I know Keith has a thing for me and I just didn't want to rub it in his face. I care about his wellbeing, we get on great and we have a lot in common. But I don't love him. And if you want me to stay away from him then that's fine by me – in fact, I think it's probably for the best."

"Good. And it's gonna be easy for you 'cos he ain't comin' anywhere near you again; I'm gonna make sure of that."

I gave him a small reluctant nod. Keith had brought this on himself and I'd I done everything I could to warn him. Ace on the other hand, I wasn't sure if he knew about these _'bigger, meaner'_ buddies of Keith's and that made me equally as nervous.

Ace pulled me in even closer and lent down to graze his stubbly chin just under my neck and across ear. "Things could be easy babe, but you gotta stop tuggin' on the reins and let me handle things."

"You mean, if I'd just agree with you the whole time…"

"Exactly. She finally gets it." I felt his hands slip down the back of my jeans and he groped the bare skin as he whispered into my ear, "So are we all sorted?"

"Hmmm… not quite." His hands slid out as I backed away from him completely, leaving him looking a little baffled. "I know what you want from me, and I wanna be everything you want and everything you need. But, it doesn't just go one way."

"Well, what do you need that I ain't givin' you? You know I'm always there for you every time you need me. When you needed wages, when fuckin' Lewis showed up, after Kyle had a go at you – While you're with me, that's the way it's always gonna be babe. If anyone fuckin' touches you they'll have me to deal with."

"I know that, and I appreciate everything you're done for me; I really do. But sometimes I just need…" I knew exactly what I wanted from him, but I just didn't know how to ask or even if he'd be willing to give it. "Never mind."

"What? You want me to get all sappy over you?"

"Well… I just wanna know how you feel about me that's all. But the last thing I want is for you to go soft…"

"Ain't no chance of that happening," he smirked.

"You know what I mean," I smirked back at him.

"I already told you how I feel about you," he shrugged, pulling the cigarette from behind his ear and putting it between his lips. "You drive me crazy. That's how I feel."

He stuck his hand into his front jeans pocket to grab his zippo, but I stepped forwards and slipped the cigarette out from between his lips and tucked it behind his ear again. "But what does that mean?"

"You want me to show you?" He tucked two fingers in each of my front jeans pockets and yanked me forwards towards him, pulling me tightly into his hips. My belly couldn't help summersault as his hands then insistently slipped down the back of my jeans again.

"No, I want you to tell me. Cos most days I feel like I'm just a convenient screw you keep around the house who doubles as a maid and triples as a car thief."

"Yeah, you come in handy for all those things," he grinned smarmily.

"Cheeky bastard…"

"Now you listen to me missy," he said seductively, slipping his hands out to run his fingers around the rim of my jeans. "I'll have no more of that lip from you or I'll set your mouth to good use just to shut it up."

"Oh will you now?"

"Uh-huh," he mumbled, leaning forwards to kiss me just under the ear. "Fuck, who's been attacking your neck?" he laughed. "I might have to find somewhere else to put 'em."

"Ace, this ain't happening right now."

"Why? I thought we were all sorted?" He undid the button on my jeans before zipping me and went to slide his hand down, but I grabbed it and forcefully pulled it out.

"No, we're not." I backed away from again him and was unable to look him in the eyes any longer.

"What the fuck's your problem?" He was clearly frustrated with me, but there was no way I could go through with what he wanted, I was simply too sore.

"I'm really… you erm…" I kept my gaze fixed at the carpet below me and let out a deep sigh for courage. "You made me bleed last night."

"Wait, what?" I looked up at him again and he was staring intently at me, frowning with concern. "Jesus… so are you alright down there, or…"

"I'm still a bit tender. It's not as bad as it was last night. Last night my stomach was cramping like all my periods had come together at once."

"Fuck," he sighed, shaking his head slightly in disgrace. He pushed off the bench and came to me, wrapping me up in his arms like a big security blanket. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it all at first though. He always goes soft on me when I get hurt, but it seemed ironic since he was the one that caused it. And he clearly hadn't been sorry for anything else that had happened, but perhaps… just perhaps… "Fuck, I'm sorry Cass," he said quietly in my ear before heaving another sigh.

"Erm… what?" I stood there astounded with my head pressed against his chest, disbelieving my own ears.

"That part… shouldn't have happened, especially like that. And it ain't gonna happen again babe, ever. OK?"

"Mmm-hmm…" My throat had suddenly become too choked up to speak and I found myself beginning to lose control. Tears began to well up and as I blinked them away, they'd roll and soak into his white t-shirt. But he just kept on holding me tight as I quietly whimpered on him, reveling in his words and feeling like we'd just made some sort of breakthrough. Ace is never sorry for anything, and so for him to apologize like that to me told me that he might actually have a hint of a heart under that tough exterior.

"Come on, it's OK," he finally said, titling his head to look at me pressed flat against his chest. "You're a tough chick, you'll be alright."

"Gotta be tough to survive you," I mumbled solemnly, finally lifting my head to look at him.

"So you gonna come with me?" he asked as he wiped my eyes with the palm of his hand.

"I think I'm still gonna stay for a couple of days. I just need a change of scenery. Plus, I've got shit to do 'round here. Did you see the length of the lawns? The place is starting to look neglected."

"So I'll get Billy 'round here to do it," he shrugged. "Since you're erm… sore."

"Well, OK. But I'm paying him. Oh and that reminds me." I went into my shoebox in my room, counted out a hundred dollars and brought it back to Ace. "Can you give this to Vince for me? I guess I won't be seeing him for a few days and he's bound to be getting itchy for it."

"You hold onto it, I'll take care of it."

"What? It was my stupid bet… You're not gonna try to get me off the hook are you? I owe him and so I'm payin' him."

"Cass," he said gently, placing a hand on my cheek, "what are you doing right now?"

"…arguing," I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"And what are you supposed to be doing?"

"…agreeing."

"Perfect. Just let me handle things, OK?"

"OK," I conceded.

"I'll see you in a couple of days. Let me know if you need to see the doctor or something alright?"

"Sure."

He gave me a big goodbye smooch and left me there, completely dumbfounded and yet skeptical at the same time. It had been a nice moment, him apologizing and letting me cry on his shoulder like that. But I doubted that his sympathetic feelings and courtesy towards me would last. Ace would be back to his normal self in a few days when the guilt of what he'd done had worn off somewhat. That I was fairly certain of.

* * *

**A/N: OK... so it had been a long time coming, but this was actually a really difficult chapter to write in terms of getting the balance right between the three parts. For my first cut of the first part I had a hell of a lot more in there with Ace being a lot harsher and Cass provoking him. But, that seemed like pushing it too far, and perhaps I've still pushed it too far, I dunno. Would welcome any thoughts on that :)**

******I think I must have at least six different versions of that part (probably more lol) - toning it up a bit, toning it back down again, changing my mind a few times - rarrr! And then, you gotta go through and make the rest balance with the first part... and then find you're not really happy with the first part anymore... lol. Anyway, that's been my 5 weeks, but I'm feeling pretty happy with it now. Hopefully it was OK. Any comments and reviews would be great thanks :)**

******Hope everyone has a happy Christmas and a very merry New Year! xx**


	28. Chapter 8: Lifting the Doubt

**Lifting the Doubt**

* * *

What is it about weeding that I can't stand? Hmm… maybe the fact that you spend two hours hard slog pulling them out from all around the house, and then one week later they're already peeking out of the soil again. Why even bother? Well usually I wouldn't have, but because Violet had left them looking so nice with her rose bushes and chrysanthemums (I always remember the spelling for that from a spelling bee in school when I was nine) I just couldn't leave them to overgrow. But I must say, while you're on your knees sweating away, troweling and pulling scraggly bits of weed from the soil, it gives you a good deal of time to think.

It was Sunday afternoon around midday, and the scorching late August sun was burning down and giving me a pretty decent tan. I hadn't seen Ace since Friday when he'd showed up somewhat remorseful for what had happened that terrible Thursday night. I didn't think his sympathy would last though. I mean, why would it? Ace apologizing? That was so out of character that I would've been less surprised to hear that he wanted to give up drinking – yeah, exactly. Never gonna happen.

But I couldn't look past the fact that he actually _had_ said sorry… for some of it at least. It had helped me get over things a lot quicker than I would've otherwise, and I was willing to put it behind us if he was willing to stay sorry for what he'd done. I was still a bit unsure of where things were heading with us though. I would've liked more of an answer when I asked him how he felt about me, but perhaps that was like asking for a miracle.

As I worked away on the gardens that ran down the fence line alongside the driveway, a near-new two-toned, red and black '56 Dodge pulled in. I'd never seen that car before, but as it drove closer I saw that Eyeball was driving with Billy next to him… but what the fuck would they want? As I stood in the driveway pulling off the gardening gloves, the red and black beast suddenly gave an unexpected burst of acceleration and came straight for me. It caught me off-guard and I jumped backwards in fright just as Eyeball slammed down the anchors. That was the highlight of his afternoon; scaring the shit outta me.

"Jesus Eyeball, you shit head," I said with an embarrassed grin, whacking his arm a few times with the dirty gloves as he climbed out of the car.

He just laughed his unique Eyeball laugh and leaned over his open driver's door as Billy climbed out from the passenger's side.

"So what are you guys up to?" I asked.

"Billy's your slave for the afternoon," Eyeball pulled cheek at him.

"Erm… Ace said you ain't up for mowin' your lawns or somethin'." Billy said. "Told me to come do 'em."

"Wow, so he actually sent you? He mentioned it but I didn't think he would. Anyway, that'd be great thanks. And I'll pay you for it, OK?"

"Won't say no to that," he nodded appreciatively as I led him to the garage.

After showing him where the push mower was, I left him to it and offered Eyeball to stay for a cold beer out of the fridge which he ardently accepted. We made ourselves comfortable in the shade on the back deck as a shirtless Billy began to sweat it out on the back field. Violet's property has a yard that'd be long enough to put another house on, and through experience I knew it'd keep him occupied for at least half an hour.

"So who's car?" I asked Eyeball after a refreshing first mouthful from my bottle.

"Mine." He pulled the cigarette from behind his ear and lit it before relaxing further down in his chair.

"So you finally got rid of the rust bucket huh?"

"Yep," he laughed. "Me 'n Vince took to it with a fuckin' sledgehammer and still got thirty bucks for it from ol' man Pressman."

"It's a nice car. Is it erm… you know…"

"Huh? Oh nah, that'd be too risky even with the new papers and shit. Nah, it's legit."

"I'm thinking about getting something soon, just so I don't have to rely on Ace all the time."

"So what's up with you and Ace anyway?" he asked in his laid-back manner that reminded me of his cousin. "Lotta shit went down the other night."

"Yeah, lotta shit went down," I said solemnly, staring vacantly out towards the bushes that lined the edge of the yard.

"So is everything cool?"

"I guess so."

"You don't sound too sure about that."

"I just... I don't know how he feels about me, that's all," I sighed. "I don't know if he's really into me, or if he'll eventually just get over me and dump me."

"What makes you think that's gonna happen?"

"Well that's what he did to Sarah, he met me and forgot about her. Who says he won't do the same thing to me?"

"What? Are you fuckin' demented or somethin'? Don't compare yourself to _that_ bitch! Ace is nuts about you."

"Hmm… I wish he was."

"What makes you think he ain't?"

"Erm… Thursday night ring any bells?"

"He was only gettin' like that _cos_ he's nuts about you. He's just don't wanna lose you, that's all."

"That makes no sense Eyeball. What you saw him do at Irby's, that wasn't the half of it. You shoulda seen him when we got back to his place… thought he was gonna kill me at one point. Doing shit like that ain't gonna keep me around; it'll only push me away."

"Well, that's just the way Ace handles things," he shrugged. "But if you ever left, he'd be cut up. He would."

"Why? What is it about me that he wants? This is all I wanna fucking hear from him, but he won't tell me! Is it cos he thinks I'm a decent screw? Is it cos I'm stupid enough to steal cars to make him money? Cos to me, it looks like that's all he wants me for. Not for _me_."

Eyeball took a long, calm drag on his cigarette. "You know what he told me? He said that you got more spine and more brains than all the other chicks in town put together."

"He really said that?"

"And you know that time you guys broke up for like a month or somethin', well he was in a fuckin' shit mood that whole goddam time. Drove us all fuckin' nuts. But usually he don't care; he'll just go find somethin' else to bang. In fact, all the other chicks he's gone steady with like, Marcia, Kathleen, Sue, Anna, Lorraine, Laura… what was that other chicks name… Julia, then there was…"

"Can you just get to the point Eyeball?"

"I'm gettin' there! Like, even when he was with Sarah, if she wasn't puttin' out then me and him would skip town and go chase some skirt in Lewiston or somewhere. But lately, he ain't even wanted to. He just ain't interested in bangin' anyone else since he's been with you."

"Oh yeah? What about Sarah? He _banged_ her, didn't he?"

"That was only 'cos of what happened with you and Keith. He does stupid shit when he's pissed off. And besides, you know what he told me 'bout that last time he rooted her? Said he got fuckin' bored," he muffled a laugh. "Said he had to think about you just to get off."

"Are you shittin' me Eyeball?"

"Hey," he said putting his hand on his heart, "I ain't shittin' ya. I swear it on my mother's good name, that's what he told me. And what I reckon is that he ain't botherin' with no one else cos he knows you put out better. So yeah, OK you're right – he loves bangin' ya. But that ain't where it stops; not by a long shot. You're his girl Cass… I dunno how else to put it."

"OK…" I was slowly coming around to his thinking, but still a little uncertain.

"Here's one for ya. That time at the diner when you told us to fuck off - after we left and he calmed down a bit, he said, _That chick's got some real nerve talkin' to me like that. And Eyeball, keep your fucking hands off her_." I gaped at him with wide eyes and then we both broke into laughter.

"OK, maybe you're right. I guess I'll just wait and see what happens."

"You want my advice Cass? You needa stop listening to all this shit Keith's fillin' your head with and open your fuckin' eyes."

"What's Keith got to do with anything?"

"Fuck, he's my cousin. I know what he's really like. And I know he went 'round to see you the other day, and it's cos he's tryin' to make you believe that Ace is no good for you."

When I thought about it, it did make some kind of sense. After all, Keith _was_ the one who'd put the idea in my head that Ace was using me and would dump me like he did Sarah. Would I have thought that otherwise? No, I wouldn't have. That's when I began to realize that it wasn't just Keith, it was Chris too. Even though I'd argued against both of them every time they told me something negative about Ace, sub-consciously I'd been listening to them. All of their negative opinions had put such a strong sense of doubt in my mind that I couldn't see the truth. Eyeball was more right than he even knew.

We sat back in silence for a little while, and Eyeball stumped his cigarette out on the wooden arm of the chair before flicking the butt over the hand rail of the deck.

"So anyway, that's enough about me… what's this about you _chasin' skirt_ in Lewiston, huh?" I asked slyly with a light-hearted laugh. "Is that what you were doing on Wednesday when we went out on the run?"

"Huh?" he said, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "No…"

"Yes!" I gave him a knowing grin and shoved him in the arm with my fist. "Don't try to deny it; you put your foot in it big time now buddy," I teased.

He stifled a laid-back laugh as he knew I had him. "OK, yeah. There's this real fine lookin' broad Ace 'n I bumped into in The Mellow Tiger the other week. Invited _both_ of us 'round to her place, horny bitch. But of course, she only got me," he quickly added. "Bitch is gettin' fuckin' married in a month. Ain't he gonna get a surprise when he finds out she ain't a virgin like she's claimin' to be."

"Well, what about Carol?"

"She don't needa know nothin'. And you needa keep your mouth shut. I'll know who fuckin' blabbed if she finds out, cos it ain't gonna be none of the other guys."

"That's so unfair on her though! I mean, I know she's full on but she's still a really nice girl."

"Pretty good lay too," he smirked.

I sighed heavily and rolled my eyes. Guys… getting laid seems to be more important than anything. "Well, I ain't gonna tell her, but only cos of everything you told me today. I kinda feel like I owe you one for that, cos I think you're right. I've been listening to other people far too much lately."

We'd been in such deep conversation that we didn't notice that Billy had finished the lawns and disappeared into the garage to put away the push mower. He ran up the back steps with his T-shirt tucked into his jeans and a river of sweat running down his chest. "Fuckin' hot out there today, ain't it?" he said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"That's why we're under here dipshit," Eyeball mocked, "in the shade, drinkin' ice cold beer, and watchin' _you_ do all the fuckin' work."

"Oh yeah? Wanna fuckin' piece'a me?" Billy ran his hand up the river on his chest and playfully flicked it at Eyeball. We both ducked in our seats as a couple more flicks came in, and then Eyeball charged at him. The two started a light-hearted, waist-level boxing match (and light-hearted for them, doesn't mean light punches) while I slipped outta there to avoid it all.

I snuck into my room and knelt down at the closet to get Billy some money from my secret shoebox. I was feeling generous and he'd done a pretty good job, so I pulled out $40. When I gave it to him, along with a nice cold beer, his eyes went wide.

"Are you serious?" he asked skeptically.

"Yeah, all yours."

"Looks like the drinks are on you tonight," Eyeball grinned eagerly.

"And," I continued, "I've been gettin' kinda lazy on the lawns lately. Do you think you could come around and do them every couple of weeks for me?"

"Are you gonna pay me this every time?"

"I'll pay you more if you do the weeding too," I cunningly thought to throw in.

"What are you fuckin' loaded or somethin'?" Billy frowned at me wide-eyed. "This is half my weekly pay." Everyone knew that I still didn't have a job, and I should've been broke.

"I ah… got an inheritance. From the old lady who died at the diner. _She_ was loaded. But no one knew." I have no idea where _that_ cover story came from, but I thought it was a pretty darn good one for spontaneously falling out of my mouth.

"OK, is every second Sunday good?"

"Whenever. Just keep 'em low." I let the guys have the two deck chairs and I leant back against the rail as we all finished our beers. The guys then got up to leave and I realized I'd completely forgotten that I'd been meaning to ask Eyeball about delivering the coke to his cousin for me.

"Eyeball, there was something else I needed to ask you," I said, pulling him back from following Billy inside.

"What?"

Billy walked through the house and disappeared though the front door to the car. "I can't see Keith anymore." I said bluntly. "If I drive up and get the coke, can you deliver it to him for me?"

"That depends, what's my cut?" he asked with a smarmy grin.

"$250 per quarter kilo."

"$300."

"Dream on."

"Alright, forget it," he shrugged.

"Are you serious? You want $300?"

"You're desperate aren't ya? That's business baby," he said with a smooth grin.

"$280."

"$300."

"Fine," I sighed. "$300. Fuckin' shrewd bastard." I'd just have to take it out of my cut.

"And don't forget what I said 'bout keepin' your mouth shut," he called back as he walked through the house. "I'll know."

* * *

"Mom, I'm home," I called out to my Mother from the lounge.

"How was school Cassie?" she called back in her frail voice which sounded twenty years too old for her. She was in her room as usual, where she'd been for three days straight, only ever coming out to use the toilet. She did that a lot, but once in a while she'd have a good day or two. Some days I'd come home and she'd be cooking or cleaning, and maybe even listening to music on the radio as she went about her housework. But as the months and the years wore on, her good days became a lot less frequent.

But that week was the worst. She'd been crying even more than usual, and every night I'd woken up in the middle of it to hear her bawling, or even howling out my father's name.

I made a meal of chicken soup for us both, took hers into her room and then sat alone in the living room to eat mine while doing a bit of homework (we couldn't afford a television). A few hours later I woke up in my books and, being a Friday night, decided to go down to my favorite bar, Oscar's Sport's Bar, to shoot some pool and earn a few extra dollars for the weekend.

"I'm going out," I called to her from the doorway of her bedroom. "Don't forget to take your meds OK?"

"OK," she smiled weakly.

"See ya."

"Cassie," she called, "come here."

I walked into the room and sat next to her on the bed. She took my hand with a bony one of hers, and placed her other on my cheek. "You're a good girl, your father would've been proud of you."

"Thanks…" Little did she know what I _really_ got up to.

"I know things haven't been easy on you. I know I've been a burden…"

"Mom, don't say that. Everything's fine. We cope, right?"

"No, you've looked after me for far too long now and it shouldn't be this way. It's not fair on you. But things will get better soon. I promise."

She pulled me down and kissed me on the forehead. "Your father and I love you Cassandra. Never forget that."

Three hours later I came home from Oscar's and went in to check on her. She was out of bed and sitting in the rocking chair in her room, her eyes closed and her lips blue. She'd taken her meds alright… the rest of the bottle.

* * *

"Cass, are you alright?" I could hear Ace's voice as I stood over my mother, feeling the coldness of her hand and crying. Screaming. "Cass!"

I opened my eyes, and there he was sitting next to me as I lay on the couch, shaking me to wake up. Tears were flowing down my cheeks, and my throat was raw like I really _had_ been screaming. Ace later told me that I had.

"Bad dream?"

"Yeah," I nodded, my bottom lip still shaking uncontrollably. I pushed myself to sit up and rested my head against his chest, trying to stop the tears. "But it wasn't a dream. It was a memory. A memory of my mom on the day she committed suicide."

Ace just nodded and gave me a small sympathetic squeeze.

"She said she was a burden. Promised that things were gonna get better real soon. I didn't even realize what she meant. I never considered her going _that_ far. But she did. She just left me there all alone."

"Well you got _me_ now babe." He gave me another squeeze and then lifted my chin to look at him. "OK?"

"Yep." He gave me a small sincere kiss on the lips, and then another with even more seriousness added. Next thing I knew I was laying on the couch again with him on top, kissing me with gusto. I guessed that in the couple of days we'd been apart he'd built up an appetite.

"How you feeling?" he asked, grinding against me and getting anxious to unleash the beast.

"I think I'm OK."

"Wanna try?"

"Yeah," I nodded, and he hastily began getting his pants down. "But… go slow."

_Go slow… yeah, sure_, I thought as my shorts and panties came off in record time. Although, he did pay me the courtesy of lubing me up with some of his legendary tongue action, even if it was a bit hurried. But once he lay over top of me, his body laying between my legs, he did as I asked and slowed right down.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Mmm-hmm."

He pushed in a fraction and that felt OK, so I told him to keep going. Half-way there though, I could feel a little bit of pain. "Hold on a sec. I just need to relax more," I told him.

"Jesus, it's like I'm taking your virginity," he laughed.

"Well, we can pretend you are…" I cocked my eyebrow with a hint of seduction.

"Ooh, that's a fucking turn on," he growled, slowly pressing in deeper. "How's that feel?"

"It feels OK now." He pushed in the rest of the way, and when he touched my cervix I could feel that it was still quite bruised. "It hurts there," I said. "Just don't go in all the way and you're OK."

"You got it baby." He started off slow and the pleasure came instantly. Small moans and little sighs started escaping me and so he began to speed up a little. "Still alright?"

"Oh god yes," I groaned.

He kissed me with passion as he kept that speed - a nice subdued pace. Then he just watched me for a while as he leisurely continued on, his face swathed with desire as I'm sure mine was too. Still feeling emotional after my dream, as I looked into his eyes I found myself falling in love with him all over again. But this time, it was for real. He'd told me that he was all mine and that was the first time I truly accepted it. That was the moment when I threw out all the negative shit that people had been feeding me, and let down the barriers of doubt to leave myself completely vulnerable to him – come what may. He must've read something in my eyes that told him what I was feeling because he gave me an alluring wink in reply.

He sped up a bit and that tipped me over the edge. I cried out loud which brought him off, following a close second. He lay on top of me for a moment and I happily hugged him, even though he was crushing me underneath. "OK, get off…" I finally strained with a light-hearted laugh.

I used the bathroom and changed into some fresh jeans while Ace sorted himself out. My orgasm had given me a mild cramp, but it wasn't anything worse than your average mild period pain and it didn't last more than ten minutes or so.

"Feelin' up to going out tonight?" he asked, wrapping his arms around my waist when I finally came out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, OK. Anything to keep my mind off that dream. But we can't go to Irby's… we got kicked out."

"Don't matter," he shrugged. "I've been kicked outta there hundreds of times."

"Are you kidding?" I laughed.

"No, although that's the first time 'ol Sheriff Bannerman's been the one to do it. But I still don't give a shit."

Bannerman… I strained to remember where I'd heard that name before.

"Alright then, I'm game if you are."

"Later," he said looking up at the clock. It was 7.30pm. "I got somethin' else in mind for now, but we gotta hurry up."

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"I ain't sayin', that'd ruin the surprise."

"Surprise? Wow… OK."

He took me by the hand and dragged me to the car, only just letting me lock the door behind us. A tingle of excitement ran through me as we drove through the streets, and then up a main road into the hills. I'd never been up that way before, and when I asked, Ace told me the area was called 'Castle View'. The houses were larger and further apart than in the suburbs of Castle Rock, with neatly trimmed hedges, picket white fences, and some very nice looking cars parked in the driveways. He finally turned off the main road and down a wide, bumpy dirt path which was surrounded in shrub and tall trees. You felt like you were in the bush, not in a suburban area.

"OK, close your eyes," Ace said.

"Are you for real?" It was hard to believe that this was Ace, the guy who'd been strangling me only days earlier, telling me to close my eyes for a surprise.

"Just do it alright?"

"OK," I grinned as I did what I was told, with excitement lurking in my chest.

The car soon came to a stop and Ace killed the engine, leaving only peace and serenity filling my ears. I heard him get out of the car and close his door, but I stayed put until he opened mine and guided me out. He walked me a few steps forwards and then firmly held me by the arm with both hands.

"OK, open."

"Fuck!" He cheekily gave me a sharp nudge forwards just as I opened my eyes, and I grabbed a tight hold of him and took a step backwards. "That's a long way down…"

"Not scared of heights, are you?" he laughed.

"No, I guess I just wasn't expecting… wow… you can see everything from up here." The dirt road had led to a wide clearing in the bush, and we were standing right on the edge of a cliff that dropped 100ft straight down into the valley that was Castle Rock. The view was incredible. You could see the whole town - Grand Street which ran right through the heart of it, Irby's, the Blue Point Diner, everything. This was a lookout, hidden within the tranquil bush which bordered Castle View. But the best part was when I looked up to see that we were facing directly west and the sun was setting in front of our eyes.

"Oh my God… are you for real?" It was an amazing sight, but I was still between the points of disbelief and being impressed that Ace was the one who'd thought to take me up there.

"Even comes with front row seats." He walked back to his car and jumped up onto the hood, laying back against the windshield. He beckoned me with two fingers and I happily climbed up to lay next to him, welcoming his arm around me.

I happily nuzzled into him for a moment, but I couldn't have having a stab at him too. "You're ah… not going soft on me are you?"

"Have a feel and find out," he smirked.

"I don't need to, I can see it perfectly fine from here," I laughed, clearing my throat. "I meant, watching the sunset? That's almost… romantic."

"Just shut up and enjoy it before I change my mind."

"Oh… OK," I smirked as I snuggled against him.

The sun was still fairly high in the sky, and we just lay there quietly for a while waiting for it to touch the hills on the horizon. He'd never taken me out like that before – our time together had been spent either arguing, fucking, stealing, drinking, or the guys had been around. I thought back to my conversation with Eyeball earlier that afternoon and realized that his words of assurance were proving themselves true. There could only be one reason why Ace had taken me there – because I'd told him I wanted to know how he felt about me. Well, he was no good at telling me with words, but he sure knew how to _show_ me. I say that I've never been much of a romantic, but I must admit that gettin' all cozy with him at that moment is one memory that I'll enjoy for a long time to come. For once we could just sit and enjoy a special moment. Well… I could enjoy a special moment. After all, he'd only gone there for my sake…

"This is like watchin' fuckin' paint dry," Ace grumbled after a while, making me break into brief laughter. Sigh… well, what can you expect I suppose.

"Aw, spoil it why don't you. It's beautiful. And it's really sweet that you thought to bring me here. Thank you."

"Yeah, I knew you'd like that," he teased, rolling onto his side to lean over top of me. "Act like a tough bitch most of the time, but really you're just a big fuckin' marshmallow."

"Am not," I grinned up into his alluring stare only an inch away.

"Whatever happened to agreeing instead of arguing?" He raked his fingers over my belly and then they hastily moved northwards under my bra.

"OK, I can do agreeing," I said quietly. I bit my lip and ran my hand up his thigh before rubbing the solid length that felt like it had much better ideas than watching paint dry.

He kissed me powerfully with force, slipping his hand underneath me to unhook my bra. It had only been half an hour since the last one, but we were both fired up and ready for the next. The hood of his car was the one place we hadn't been successful at the first time, but we were dead keen on making amends. There were no nosey neighbors around to stop us this time, but even if there were I wouldn't have cared. I say I'm no romantic, but the prospect of doing it with the sunset in sight… well, it turned me into a big fuckin' marshmallow.

Ace undid the button on my jeans and stuck his hand down my panties, and I was so overcome with passion that the headlights of the car that had pulled up next to us didn't even register with me. Ace looked up briefly and mumbled, "Just ignore these losers," before resuming his hot and heavy kisses on my mouth.

"OK," I somehow managed to grin, pulling him in tighter.

"Hey, get a load of this jerk parked in my spot." The voice wasn't too distant from us, but to me it sounded like a faint whisper. Ace and I stuck to the plan and ignored him. I wasn't gonna let anyone spoil this perfect moment.

"You're parked in my spot," said the voice again, closer this time. In fact, he was standing right beside Ace's hood. Ace didn't stop kissing me, but pulled his hand out of my pants and defiantly raised his middle finger up at him. I couldn't help but laugh into the kiss and started working on getting his belt undone.

"Knock, knock!" came a hard rapping on the hood. "Hey asshole! I'm fuckin' talkin' to you!"

Ace broke off the kiss and gave me a small smile as he brushed my hair back around my ear. "You stay put." He then rolled backwards off the bonnet with a snide grin surfacing to his lips and I sat up, watching anxiously as he strolled around the front of the car.

The guy was about our age and dressed very well-to-do in a bright white, long-sleeved button-up shirt that was rolled at the elbow, tucked into pressed slacks. His shoes looked expensive and had even been shined, and his dark blonde hair was cut short and neat. If didn't know any better, I would've guessed that he was heading out on a casual date, not hanging around with his buddies. The car he'd pulled up in was a brand new pearl-white, four-door, '59 Chrysler Windsor. Two other guys climbed out of his car, and I glanced behind to see a jet black, '58 Chevy Impala convertible parked at his tail. Three more guys climbed out of there, making six in total, all wearing nicely ironed button-up shirts, but a couple of them were in jeans. It was obvious that all of these guys, or at least their parents, were not short on money.

However, Ace wasn't the least bit intimidated by numbers. He strolled straight up to the guy and stood almost chest to chest, staring eye to eye. They were the same height and roughly the same build, but in a one-on-one I knew who I'd be putting my money on. "You've got about ten seconds to fuck off before I fuck you up," Ace said in that calm yet demanding voice that he does so well.

"Erm Patrick… do you know who that guy is?" called one of his friends from behind me. "That's Ace Merrill," laughed another.

"I know exactly who he is. And someone's gotta teach this hood that he can't go around doing what he wants, when he wants like he _thinks_ he can."

"What's this guy's deal?" I said in a low whisper, not really expecting either of them to hear me, let alone answer.

"Why anyone would wanna pick a fight with _me_, I have no idea," Ace laughed.

"Couple reasons," Patrick said, firmly holding his bold stance. "You beat my cousin to near death the other night. And boy are we gonna get one back for him."

"You might need to narrow it down a bit for me…" Ace smirked cruelly.

"Kyle. And my uncle should've blown your head off like he said he was gonna. Oh well, guess I've got my chance to put things right now."

"See those bruises on my girl's face? That was Kyle. And he's lucky your uncle pulled out that shotgun or it wouldn't have been _near_ death." It had been less than a week since that shit went down with Kyle, and the bruises were now yellowing as they had almost healed. But the size and the places of where they were, still clearly told the story of what had happened.

Patrick glanced in my direction and suddenly grew a wide mischievous grin. "How long you been with him for?"

"You don't talk to her," Ace said firmly.

"Oh well, don't matter much anyway," Patrick shrugged. "It doesn't change the fact that you slept with my girlfriend."

"What? When?" I asked. At first I felt a little concerned, but then I realized that I was jumping to conclusions. Ace was trying his best to do his bit in giving me what I needed from him, so I could at least give him the benefit of the doubt. In fact, it was about time I stopped doubting him at all, and stood by him like he needed me to.

"Not too long ago if I recall," Patrick said coolly.

"I think you're full of shit." I glanced at Ace to see his reaction, and pulled myself up to sit on my knees.

"Who's your girlfriend?" Ace asked.

"Ex-girlfriend now, thanks to you. Jean Nilsson."

"Hmm," Ace said, rubbing his chin under a grin of spite. "Oh yeah… Jean. Nice ass, lousy lay. Even for a virgin."

Patrick lunged at him, but Ace grabbed him by the collar and shoved him back so hard he stumbled, falling to be caught by his group of friends. "See, what did I tell you sweetheart? He ain't denying it."

"What is there to deny?" Ace shrugged. "It happened. But that was months ago. New Year's. Besides, she wanted it. Told me she wanted to lose it to a real man instead of the pussy she had for a boyfriend. And now I know exactly what she meant."

"Come on boys, let's take him." Patrick took one step forwards, but not one of his middle-class douchebag friends followed. They all gave each other stares of uncertainty, wise to what could happen if they messed with Ace.

"Good luck," one of his friends laughed behind him, sending the rest of them into laughter. It was almost as if they didn't care if he got hided. Perhaps it was about time someone put him in his place.

"Your homo friends there seem to know what's good for them," Ace said, still keeping that calm and collected presence about him. "Maybe you should listen before I rearrange your face all over my front fender."

But Patrick refused and puffed out his chest like an enraged mountain gorilla. "Fine then you bunch of wimps, I can take this white-trash piece of shit on my own anyhow." He took several slow yet aggressive steps forward towards Ace, whose patience had just been worn too thin.

I cringed as I saw that hollow gaze cloud over him, and I feared whatever was about to happen next. "What the fuck did you just call me? Have you got a fucking death wish?"

"I'm gonna teach you a lesson, right here, right now." Patrick stood before Ace with revenge in his eyes. Perhaps it was clouding his vision, because if he knew Ace that well, he should've thought twice about going one on one with him. Then again, maybe he was too cocky to think he could lose.

"Don't try to be a big man, little boy. I'll fuck you up 'til you're unrecognizable."

Then suddenly, faster than you can blink, Patrick sharply drew his elbow back and plunged his fist at Ace's jaw. He slogged him a good one with a loud smack, and kept on swinging hard and fast, low and high, causing Ace to swing back on the defensive. The guys behind us were hooting and hollering, cheering on the fight. But even with the little knowledge I have about fighting, I could tell that this guy didn't really know what he was doing. He was swinging an awful lot, but appeared to be landing them only by chance. He was obviously a strong guy and fast too, and he'd done a lot better than I'd expected - it's amazing what effect hate can have on a person. But once Ace got a decent swing in, a single powerful sock to Patrick's stomach, that was pretty much the end of it.

Patrick buckled forwards in pain, clutching the hood of Ace's car and gasping for breath like he'd never suffered a blow in his life. Ace then ran his fingers up through the back of Patrick's short dark-blonde hair and gripped it tightly between his fingers. "Look away baby," he said to me, and I immediately obliged. But I still felt the car rock with the force of Ace shoving Patrick's head down, and I still heard that boys nose crack on the front fender like he'd snapped the branch of a tree. I then heard his body slither and slump to the ground at Ace's feet, and a small shudder rippled through me.

Patrick's friends weren't cheering and laughing anymore. Instead they all stared at Ace, stunned like all of the folktales they'd ever heard about him had just proven themselves true.

"You guys better come scrape this pathetic loser of the ground before I make fucking mincemeat outta him under my tires."

Two of them immediately ran forwards and scooped Patrick up, one under each arm. Patrick started to come around, and in his daze, tried to throw more abuse at Ace. I had to look away at the first sight of his nose. Ugh… it was horrible. Swollen, bruised and twisted out of joint, blood streaming onto his bright white button up shirt. But Ace just brushed it off as if it were nothing. I guess for him, that type of thing was common place. Sadly enough, it was beginning to feel like it was becoming common place for me too.

His friends hauled him into the back seat of his car with him protesting that he wanted to drive. In the end they all told him to shut up and one of them got behind the wheel. Ace and I both watched as the cars started up and circled to turn around before driving up the dirt path of the enclosure to leave.

"He's gonna be sore tomorrow," Ace smirked as he hastily opened his driver's door. "Come on, let's get outta here."

"What's the rush?" I asked, climbing down off the hood and fixing my clothes.

"Just do what I say, get in the car."

I hurried around to the passenger's side as he fired the engine, and I barely got my door closed as he put the car into reverse and threw his foot down. He hastily spun the car around and headed up the long dirt path. In the rear view mirror I could see where the sun had already gone down, leaving a strip of golden lining the hills on the horizon. The sky above them faded into pastel purple, dark blue and then into black, and above us were the first traces of stars. I felt a little upset that the moment had been spoilt, but even more upset that Ace's mood had been spoilt. He drove with that look in his eyes like business between him and Patrick wasn't quite over yet, and I dreaded to find out what was running through his mind.

We drove through the streets of Castle View for a while, with me growing more and more envious with each passing house. Each large family home spoke perfection. The lawns were all nicely mowed, fences color coordinated with the house, and a brand new car or two parked in each driveway. It all looked too perfect for anything to ever go wrong. You'd imagine each family living in harmony amongst neighbors who were all welcoming and friendly. There'd be no squabbling or gossiping, no druggies or alcoholics in sight. Yeah right… in actual fact, that place was far from perfection.

Ace soon stopped the car on the side of one of the streets and killed the engine, leaving us in dark silence. I glanced around, but couldn't think for a second what we could be doing there… until I saw it. Patrick's car was parked alone on the opposite side of the road in the distance, five houses down.

"What's going on?" I asked with an unsettling feeling in my gut that told me I already knew.

"See that parked on the side of the road?"

"Yeah…"

"I want you to bring it in for me."

"Why me?"

"Don't ask questions, just do it."

"OK… wait; I don't have my lock picks. You took them, remember?" A small sense of relief came over me as I realized that, but it was short-lived.

"They're in there," he said pointing to the glove box.

I opened it in front of me and sure enough, there they all were. "Oh, how convenient," I said as I collected my tools and stuffed them into the back pocket of my jeans. The sudden demand made me nervous, especially since this would be my first solo, but I had to believe that I could pull it off.

"So, you know the way outta here? You just follow this road, take your first left, then your first right, then keep following your nose all the way down into Castle Rock. I'll meet you out at Markus's place."

"Sure."

As I opened my door, Ace suddenly reached forwards to sling his arm around my neck and pulled me backwards into a short yet heated kiss. "Things _are_ gonna get better real soon. Once we get this business fully up and running, we're gonna be living the highlife. But sometimes, you're just gonna have to trust me. Can you do that?"

"Uh-huh, I trust you."

"Good. We gotta stick together real tight, cos it's gonna be me and you all the way baby."

"That sounds good to me," I said with a small smile.

He kissed me again, a little more fervently this time, as if to seal the deal. "And another thing. You do a good job tonight and I've got a little somethin' at home with your name on it."

"Oh really, what?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

"Two surprises in one day. You _are_ going soft on me," I teased.

I climbed out of the car and walked back down the road a little as he drove away. One side of the road was all bush, and the other side was lined with houses. I had to be super careful after just being dropped off by Ace's well-known '49, so after walking a fair distance in the opposite direction of Patrick's house, I slipped into the bush to wait a while and scope out the area.

While I'd been spending all my time listening to Keith and doubting Ace's intentions, Ace hadn't taken one eye off that prize. He was still just as intent as ever on building up this car conversion business, and he was still dead set on using my skill set to help him. My grin spread a mile wide as I realized he still believed in me as much as he had on the day I'd found out about it. He was still calling on me to join in the glory, and my desire to answer that call was burning stronger than ever. Because this time, I understood exactly what he needed from me – my trust. Sounds so simple, but before all the bullshit went down in the few days before, I hadn't truly understood how to give it to him. All I had to do was trust him, and he'd take care of the rest. He always does. And as I peered down the road at Patrick's car waiting silently on the sidewalk, I knew that now was my first opportunity to put that trust to the test.

* * *

**A/N:** I know it's been a while since my last update, but I've been working on quite a bit more than just this chapter. I've gone through most of part one and edited bits here and there, mostly just reworded paragraphs and looked at the grammar. The ideas are all the same though, so you won't miss out on anything by not reading back through it. I've also **extended the final scenes from chapters 7 and 9**. They should've been written that way in the first place, but I was much more hesitant back then than I am now.

What triggered it all was a good piece of advice I'd been given from a reader, who said that I should put it all in the way that I think it should be. I totally agree. To be honest I've found myself holding back a lot when I'm writing, simply because I've been worried about pushing the boundaries too far. But, real life doesn't have boundaries, and I'm coming around to the idea that neither should our stories. Let me know your thoughts anyway :) xx


	29. Chapter 9: The Black Box

**A/N:** Sorry again for the long wait! I've been doing a lot of planning for the coming chapters as well as writing this one out :) I hope you don't mind long chapters because this is the longest so far. I'm really proud of it though, so please take your time in reading and enjoy!

**The Black Box**

* * *

He had no way of knowing that he'd never see that car again. No way of knowing that while he was inside his house, trying to straighten his nose and stop the bleeding, some girl was outside stalking his property and about to take two thousand dollars' worth of his precious stuff. But then, perhaps it wouldn't matter much to him anyway. Perhaps his parents would be able to claim the insurance for it and buy him a new one. Even without insurance Patrick's father could probably afford to whip a new one out of his wallet. Maybe that's why I didn't feel all that apologetic for what I was about to do. Or maybe I was just becoming accustomed to it in the same way I was becoming accustomed to seeing Ace breaking noses.

The bush I had slipped into was really a line of tall fir trees, backed by waist high thistle and shrub. I peered ahead in the darkness to see whether it was possible to walk through the dense mass, or if I'd be better off backing out and taking the cleanly paved side of the road instead. But although the paved side of the road would be the easy route, the bushy side would give me the advantage. Not only would it provide the perfect amount of cover to keep me concealed while I got close to the car, but it also meant I could take my time to scope out the area before making any moves. I carefully made my way through the thick branches and shrub, thankful that I had changed into jeans earlier, but still battling with the odd wild branch of thistle clawing at my arms.

At every house I came to, I'd stop, crouch and scan every window to check that nobody was silently peering through the curtains after seeing me suspiciously slip into the bush. It's vital to think of these things and to cover your back in every way possible, but I had to do it fast; who knew how long Patrick's car would be parked out there once he cleaned his face up. He could come storming out of the house at any moment, threatening to hunt Ace down for a second round. Or perhaps his father would decide that his son wasn't going anywhere else for the night and lock his car away in the garage – who knew?

Once I'd managed to struggle my way through the shrub all the way up to Patrick's house, I crouched down to scope out the area through my concealing line of firs. The opposite side of the street was lined with wealthy looking houses, and Patrick's was in the dead-center of the five on his block. Lights were still on in all of them, which was understandable considering it wasn't even 9pm yet - far earlier than the ideal time for boosting cars. I hoped people would be sitting down with their families, or preparing for bed and not planning to take the trash out or walk the dog. I checked Patrick's house for curtain movement to make sure nobody was watching, just as I had done with the other houses, but I was satisfied that him and everyone on the street were unaware of my presence. My biggest potential problem was that the street was very well lit. The sun had gone down by now, but a full moon was high above and the streetlights that lined the road flooded the area so amply that it may as well have been daytime.

After a deep breath, I pulled my lock picks from my pocket and sifted through them to find the right one and take my tension wrench. This was it; my first solo. Everything that Ace had taught me was about to be put into play. My hands were steady, but on the inside I was shaking. The what if scenarios were pouring through my mind and blurring what should have been so simple and straight-forward.

And then I heard Ace's voice as clearly as if he was crouched right next to me. _Drop the nerves Cass. A clear head and focus is what's gonna get you through._ I then remembered how he'd draped his arm around my shoulders and given me a comforting squeeze, and suddenly my nerves dissipated.

I'd been running high on adrenaline before, but once I put one foot out onto the street an even higher dose kicked in and the clear head and focus came to me instantly. Once the pressure of the situation hits me, my brain seems to understand that there's simply no room for nerves, emotion, or any of that useless stuff, and it pushes everything else to the back of the queue. Every spare thought is spent on enhancing my senses and following through with the plan, which is merely to move in swiftly, do the job, and get the fuck out of there.

I casually walked across the road, just as Ace had taught me, as if I had a right to be there. I was relieved to see that the Chrysler had been parked the right way against the sidewalk, with the driver's door on the street, because that meant I wouldn't have to walk around it and turn my back on Patrick's house while picking the lock. Not that I spent much time picking the lock… three seconds and it was over (I timed it in my head). A proud new record for me.

After carefully opening the door, I slipped onto the wide leather bench seat and then clicked the door closed again as quietly as possible. But then just as I looked towards the ignition and inserted my lock pick, I heard the faint hum of a vehicle coming towards me from behind. At first I thought it would just be a passing car and so I ducked down lower to ensure my head was below window level. But then the headlights grew large on Patrick's dashboard in front of me, and the hum of the engine came to a stand-still at my rear. _Fuck. Just my luck_. Someone had just parked right behind me. And judging by the sounds of young guys laughing and yahooing as the car doors were being slammed shut, there was little doubt in my mind that this was the Impala, full of Patrick's friends. I figured they come to see how their buddy was doing.

I had about two seconds to react. There was no way I could get out of the car because they'd see me, so I whipped my lock pick out of the ignition and hastily got down onto the floor, crouching into a tight ball, praying that none of them had a reason to peer in. I was concerned about being trapped in there like that, but I didn't panic. I figured they'd go straight into the house anyway.

"Hey man, what are you doin'?" one of them then asked anxiously in a soft-spoken voice.

"Lightin' a cigarette, what does it look like?" came a casual reply in a deep husk.

"You know Patrick's folks don't like smoking the house - fuckin' put it out."

"So I'll just finish it before we go in. No rush is there?" The rear of Patrick's car then rocked as a body lent against the back door from the sidewalk.

_Dammit… just my luck._

The streetlights were my biggest worry. I was effectively huddled down in a cavern of light. But there was no point in panicking. It's not over till the fat lady sings, as the saying goes. So I just stayed huddled in my fetal position, breathing in the dust of the Chrysler's carpeted floor, being sure to stay absolutely quiet and still. One sound would draw their attention, one movement and they'd feel it.

The car rocked some more as another leant against it, or the guy moved to make himself more comfortable – one or the other; it was hard to tell.

"Fuck, Patrick's face was mess tonight, wasn't it?" came a voice so nasal it sounded like he had a peg on his nose. I was sure he was putting it on; he had to be or I'd feel sorry for the guy.

"Yeah," came the hushed agreement from the other two. There had been three in the Impala earlier, and hearing three distinct voices told me that they were all accounted for.

"That Ace guy's one brutal son-of-a-bitch." My ears pricked up at the name and I felt the urge to jump up and defend him, but of course, that was not an option.

"That's why you don't take him on," said the softly-spoken. "He'll show no mercy."

"Patrick had good reason to be angry though," said the deep husk. "I mean, if Ace fucked _my_ girlfriend I'd take the chance to punch his head in too. And besides, if you didn't, that'd be pussy."

"I wasn't gonna get involved though…"

"No way. Not my fight…"

"Neither."

"Did you hear what happened to Kyle the other night?" the softly-spoken then asked his friends.

"About Ace jumping him in his driveway?" said the deep husk. "Yeah, I heard he knocked him to the ground unconscious and was about to stick a blade in his throat when Kyle's old man scared him off with a shotgun."

"Yeah but," the softly-spoken then said in a whisper so low I had to strain my ears to hear it, "that wasn't the whole story."

"Huh? Well that's all I heard…"

"I know, I was only told that part too. But last night when I was here, Kyle came round and I overheard him telling Patrick about some shit that went down before that."

"Shit like what?" the deep husk asked with interest.

"Well, on second thought, maybe I shouldn't…"

"Tell us man!" the nasal eagerly encouraged.

"Well, if I tell you, you gotta swear you won't tell anyone else."

"We won't say nothin'. Swear it."

"Alright. You know Kyle's Chevy? Someone stole it that night. Drove it right outta the parking lot for Jimmy's Diner in Chamberlain – you know the place? Anyway, Kyle and Neil saw it driving up Summerland, rushed to Neil's car to follow it, but then just as they got to the exit a car blocked them in. And you know who was driving?"

"Who?"

"Ace's Mrs."

"So, Ace stole it…"

"Yeah. She told them she had engine trouble or some bullshit like that. But she was just makin' sure he got away." My entire being froze cold at the news. So Kyle knew. This was not good. "Anyway, later on that night, Kyle found the car parked a block or two away from where it had been stolen."

"That's weird… why would anyone steal a car and then take it back?"

"Well, he also said he believed that Ace had been waiting for them to come pick it up, and then followed him home."

"If he wanted to know where Kyle lived, why didn't he just watch the car from the start? He didn't need to steal it. Doesn't make sense."

"Dunno either. I think I must've missed part of the story. But what I _did_ hear is that Kyle doesn't wanna go to the cops about any of it."

"Sounds fuckin' suspicious to me," said the deep husk.

"Real suspicious. Wait a minute… holy shit…" The softly-spoken paused and my heart skipped a beat. Had I been discovered? I literally stopped breathing.

"What is it?"

"Tonight Ace accused Kyle of causing those bruises on his chicks face…"

"Fuck… yeah, he did say that too!"

_Whew…_

"So that's it then! Kyle beat her up, and when Ace found out about it, he took the car back, probably parked it up again and watched it to hunt him down. Would've followed him home and then jumped him when he was alone. Heh… clever."

"Woah… that's some serious shit gone down man."

"Yeah. Just between us though, I never really liked Kyle anyway. He's such an arrogant bastard, ain't he? And girls say he's a bit of a creep too. It's about time someone did him over."

"Yeah. I'll second that."

"Third it."

"So you guys ain't gonna say a word right?"

"Secret's safe with us, right George?"

"Sure." Sounds like George was the nasally one.

"Anyway, hurry up man," said the softly-spoken. "Let's get this over with so we can go back to mine and shoot some pool."

"Yeah alright, I'm comin'."

The car rocked again as they pushed off of it, and their hushed voices and footsteps soon faded into silence. I snapped my head up to listen closer, and once I was satisfied they were gone, lifted myself out of my little space.

I'd managed to remain calm throughout the whole ordeal, but now that it was over my mind let anxiety take control. Kyle knew. And it was all my fault. I should've restrained myself from interfering that night. Ace would've gotten away, no doubt about it. But instead, I had to literally put myself right in the middle of it, only to almost get raped, almost get a guy killed, and through it all, expose our actions. Kyle knowing _anything_ about us boosting cars was a risk; it didn't matter if he wanted to go to the cops about his Chevy or not. Even the smallest hint that we were up to something could cause him to get nosey, and who knew what problems that kind of attention could bring.

As I inserted my tools into the lock it did occur to me that stealing another one in close relation to Kyle might make things worse. But, Ace seemed adamant about me bringing it in for him and I wasn't gonna let him down. Plus, I was feeling a little spooked after hearing myself mentioned in the conversation, and I didn't like the idea of walking alone in that area just in case Kyle was still around. So, I raked the pins and turned the tension wrench once notch to see the dashboard come alive with light. Half a tank – perfect. I'd learnt my lesson there. Then as swiftly as possible, I turned the 'key' the rest of the way to be welcomed with a gentle purr from the engine, put the thing into gear and then softly put my foot on the gas, pulled away from the curb and drove down the street.

* * *

With Ace's directions it was easy to find my way back down into Castle Rock, but the journey through town and part of the way up Grand Street was a nervous one. The traffic was thin at that time of night, and there weren't many people about, but all it would take is for one person to recognize the car and question why some mysterious girl was driving it, and Kyle and Patrick could put two and two together to work out the answer.

So I drove through there carefully, paying more attention to the light scatter of cars and people around than the road. But although I didn't see anybody tilting their head in wonder, there was no way to be certain that nobody had.

I soon hit the main highway, relieved to be out of town. The traffic was always thin along there, and that night I didn't pass one car the whole way up to Markus's secluded property out in the country. I drove up the dirt hill, the lower part of his long driveway, and came over the rise expecting to see Ace's '49 in front of the trailer where he usually parked it. But oddly, it wasn't there. The garage behind the trailer had both sets of its huge double doors wide open and the floor was clear of cars. Turns out that Wednesdays and Sundays were the days we were supposed to go out boosting anyway. I parked the Chrysler up at the far left side of the garage and bid it farewell before making my way through to see if anyone was around.

Vince's laugh suddenly boomed around the garage walls from the trailer, so I knew he was there, and Eyeball's whiny protests could be heard soon after.

"Yes, loser!" roared Vince, "I got eight in, you only got six. So you're a fuckin' loser!"

"No! I've still got fifteen seconds to go, so kiss my ass!"

"You can't get two more in fifteen seconds, cos you're a fuckin' useless loser!"

"Knock knock," I said, knocking on the door frame as I poked my head through the doorway.

Vince and Eyeball were standing side by side, each holding a fist full of bottle caps, and Eyeball was flicking one after the other across the kitchen, anxiously trying to land them in the trashcan. I'd seen guys do that before, but I could never get the hang of it. You hold the lip of the cap between your thumb and your middle finger and kinda snap your fingers to send the bottle top gracefully flying across the room like a flying saucer. Eyeball seemed pretty good at it, and fast at reloading, but he wasn't quite landing them.

"Ten seconds to go, loser!" Vince said excitedly, keeping a close eye on the wall clock that they'd placed above the trashcan.

"Fuck you!" And then, much to Eyeball's delight, he got one more in, then missed one, got another… and then bam! Right on the last second, another one dropped into the can. "Ha-ha!" He literally jumped with joy, throwing his fists in the air. "Fucking beat you, ya cock-knocker! Now gimme my ten bucks."

"Naw! Shit man!"

"Ha-ha-ha!" Eyeball's unique laugh reverberated through the kitchen.

"Nah, fuck you," said Vince, clearly unhappy with losing his ten dollars. "Double or nothing."

"You're on."

"Hey guys," I said extra loudly to combat their bombarding voices. "Have you seen Ace?"

"Hey O'Connor, nup," Vince said as he headed to the trashcan to collect the bottle tops for another exciting round. _Very helpful, thanks Vince._

"Are you comin' out with us tonight Cass, or did you just bring something in then?" Eyeball asked.

"I just brought something in… kind of a last-minute request from Ace. Do you think Markus will want me to do another one though?"

"No idea. Markus should be here pretty soon though; he's never late."

"OK," I said, parking my butt on the arm of the sofa. "I guess I'll just wait for him to show then." Perhaps Markus would know where he is.

"So how far did you have to push it?" Vince mocked me as he passed half his collected bottle tops to Eyeball.

My only reply to that was raising my middle finger at him with a scowl, which left Eyeball gazing at us both in confusion. He obviously didn't know about me running out of gas a few days earlier – _good on you Vince. Maybe your mouth ain't so big after all._

"By the way, about that money I owe you…" I started.

"Got it," Vince interrupted.

"Really?" I'd given Ace the money, but he'd bounced it straight back to me and said he'd take care of it. I didn't think for a second he'd meant he'd pay it for me.

"Uh-huh," Vince said before taking a mouthful of his beer from the small table beside the other sofa opposite mine. "Why?"

"Oh… nothing."

Eyeball's gaze flicked rapidly between us as he still had no idea what we were talking about. But he soon decided that he didn't really care either, and so shrugged it off and went to the fridge to grab another beer.

Half an hour later, the guys were on their third round of double or nothing. Eyeball was on a winning streak and Vince was trying every trick in the book to put him off. Eyeball had won three rounds to Vince's two, and if he won this one then Vince would owe him $20. But if Vince won, then they'd be even and owe each other nothing.

"Ten seconds!" I yelled to Eyeball, right on the edge of my sofa arm. "Come on, one more! Get it in! Get it in!"

"Nah, fuck it up man, fuck it up…" Vince stressed, his face looking daunt.

But Eyeball was flicking those things out like a machine. Surely he had to land one… surely… and then…

"Markus is back. Clean it up! Clean it up!" Talk about kill the fuckin' fun. All of us swooped around Markus's kitchen gathering every bottle top we could find and binning them. The things were fuckin' everywhere… they coated the benches and the floor. I wondered where they'd got them all from. But we managed to get the job done right before the front door swung open.

"Hey Markus, you're back," Vince said casually. All of us were leaning on the kitchen benches, suspiciously trying to act casual, while Markus's big round eyes gazed at each of us and then around his kitchen as he tried to figure out what mischief we'd been up to.

"Hi Markus," I said, trying to distract him while Eyeball carefully dropped his last handful of bottle caps into the trashcan below him. "Have you seen Ace? He said he'd meet me here."

"Yeah, there's been a change of plans," he said with his typical serious tone. "I'm gonna drop you off to him before I take the boys outta town."

"OK…" I was confused but willing to run with it. "So where is he?"

"Sukey's Tavern."

"Never heard of it." I found it funny that as small as Castle Rock was, there were still places I hadn't heard of or been to after months of living there.

"All the old guys hang out in there," added Eyeball. "We all fuckin' hate the place."

"Really?"

"Yeah, me and him more than anyone, cos my old man and his old man practically live there."

It seemed strange to me that Ace would change the plan at the last minute go to a place he hated. He was up to something… and I had a feeling Markus knew more than he was willing to tell, because once he read the confusion on my face, he changed the subject.

"So did you bring that car in like Ace asked you to?" he asked, swinging open the fridge door to grab a beer.

"Yeah, it's parked in there," I gestured in the direction of the garage behind me. I felt rather proud to be able to tell Markus that. "Did you want me to do another one though? I mean, I can… if you need me to." I didn't _really_ want to because I had to see Ace, but offered just to appear eager.

"Hmm," Markus smirked, popping the top off his bottle with the bottle opener, "you're keen, I'll give you that. And I would take you up on the offer, but I don't know how long Ace is planning on hanging around there for." He then flicked his bottle cap with his fingers and it gracefully sailed across the kitchen and into the dead center of the rubbish bin. I was impressed at his accuracy, and I think we were all wondering if Markus knew exactly what we'd been up to after all - making a complete mess of his kitchen. You can't fool a smart guy like that.

Once the guys had finally finished their beers we all piled into Markus's Buick. Vince had called shotgun and so Eyeball and I were in the back. The guys all mumbled through conversation as we headed into town, but I was so caught up in thinking about what I'd overheard while huddled down in the Chrysler, that I didn't take one word of it in. After arriving in town and driving through a few unfamiliar streets we pulled up in what looked like an industrial area. I gazed around to see a couple of used car lots across the road, a mechanics shop, and various other factories and warehouses surrounding us.

"Walk three blocks in that direction," Markus pointed ahead of us through the windshield. "You'll see an old pub up there on the corner; that's Sukey's."

"OK… thanks."

I slipped out of the car after a brief "See ya" to the other guys, and Markus did a U turn before driving off, leaving me in the unfamiliar area, in near darkness, on my own. That was just something I'd have to get used to since it was all part of my job.

* * *

Three blocks down, there on the corner, was Sukey's Tavern. The worn looking two-story building stood on its own block of dirt, with a faded brown wooden fence lining the perimeter. The place looked pretty rough; the faded yellow paint was peeling off the wooden boards and there was even a cracked window on the upper floor. The dusty parking lot had one row of cars and I was relieved to see Ace's '49 amongst them. I stepped up onto the wide veranda which ran the length of the front of the building and tried to shake off the nerves of uncertainty as I pushed the door open.

Old men were everywhere, just as Eyeball had described. It's the longest standing pub in Castle Rock and the longtime residents had loyally stuck to what they knew instead of looking for a change of scenery at the Mellow Tiger or Irby's which were established much later. The place was roughly about the same size as Irby's but the bar was larger and there was only one pool table instead of three like at the pool hall. It wasn't jam packed with people like Irby's could sometimes get, but it wasn't empty of patrons either. There were maybe sixty or so guys milling around – some at the bar, some in the booths at the rear of the room, and there were even a few eating at the row of round tables that lined the front in a kind of restaurant area. Yeah… you could even order a meal there… if you trusted the place enough.

I apprehensively walked through the room scouting for Ace, but he was nowhere to be seen. Some of the men stared at me with seedy smiles which made me more than uncomfortable, but I politely pretended not to notice and walked on by. At the center of the room I could see into everywhere - every booth, every barstool, every nook and cranny. But I still couldn't see Ace. I thought perhaps he was using the bathroom, but also began to wonder if the bar continued upstairs and he was up there. I know now that the bar doesn't continue upstairs though. The ground floor is the bar/restaurant area and the top floor is a hotel that's mostly used for putting old drunks who are too sloshed to make their way home. Maybe that's what made the place so appealing to them.

Just as I was giving up hope and about to wait in the car, I set eyes on a familiar face that I would've preferred never to see again. He was slouching over the bar with half a glass of whiskey in one hand, staring over his shoulder straight at me.

"What do you want?" he slurred with a drunken, mean glint in his eyes.

"I'm just looking for someone, that's all."

"Not lookin' for me are ya? Fuckin' nosey social workers." Yeah… yay. Mr. Chambers. He spun around on his bar stool, glass in hand, and sloppily spilt a small portion of whiskey across his lap. His eyes were glary and bloodshot and he wobbled around on his stool like all sense of balance had left him. That guy was one stage above being plastered, and one stage below throwing up. He was schnockered.

"I'm not looking for _you_," I calmly tried to assure him. "I've got no business with you. And I'm not a social worker."

The guy next to him, who appeared to be far more sober than Mr. Chambers, swiveled around on his stool to see what was going on. I was taken aback by the familiarity in his face. "Well what do we have here?" he asked in a rough, yet soft-spoken voice as he slyly looked me up and down. "Do you need any help little lady?"

I needed no introduction; I knew who this was hands down. His eyes were Ace's eyes, his mouth was Ace's mouth. The only thing he didn't have was Ace's youth… or his hot body. There was no doubt in my mind that this was his father. He may have had a few extra pounds of flesh to lug around with him, but he still kept himself well-groomed. His appearance was slick with his neatly cut greying hair perfectly combed back, and he wore a tidy button up shirt rolled at the sleeves over casual jeans. Ace never talked about him at all and so I had no idea what to expect if we ever happened to run into him. But with his smooth talk and devious Ace eyes that looked me over like he was ready to start throwing me pickup lines, my first impression of him… was sly old fox.

I had the urge to apologize for breaking into his house, leaving the place a mess and smelling like dog vomit (according to Ace's rendition of the tale). I'd always felt really bad about that. But of course, laying down any kind of confession was out of the question.

"Do you talk little darlin'?" he prompted me.

"Well actually, I believe I'm looking for…"

"Bah, she's just givin' us some cover story for comin' in here to check up on me," Mr. Chambers rudely interrupted. "Well for your information, _social lady_, my good for nothin' wife's home for once. So I can come down here and drink for however fucking long I like…"

"Hey, hold on a second now Cal," Ace's father said, placing a firm hand on Mr. Chambers shoulder. "Let the lady speak."

"Well if she ain't no social worker then tell me what the fuck she was doin' snoopin' round my place the other week."

"I told you, I was looking for Chris." The way he was talking to me was really starting to get on my wick and I could feel my frustrations building.

"Oh yeah… _he's my 'friend_', she says. Don't you think it's a bit odd for a girl your age to be friends with a 13 year old boy?"

Chris had told me the stories – I'd heard all about how every couple of weeks he'd attend school with bruises and black eyes from Mr. Chambers. Or sometimes he'd be too banged up to go to school at all and his mother would have to ring him in sick. I knew Chris wasn't exaggerating anything either, because he'd walked into my Diner with the evidence on him at least twice during those few weeks he came to visit me. Anger and hate for the guy swirled within me and I could feel it about to come gushing out all over him.

"Well, maybe _Cal_," I said sinisterly, "maybe…"

"Maybe what?" he said even more sinisterly, as if challenging me to bring it on.

I opened my mouth, ready to let rip… and then suddenly bit back. I've always been terrible at biting my tongue but as I stared into those hard, heartless eyes, I knew I had to. I wanted to tell him that Chris needs every friend he's got in this town to help keep his head up among all the assholes who keep trying to drag him down. I wanted to tell him that he's nothing but an abusive, drunken mess of a man who does nothing good for his family. The desire to vent burned so strongly within me, but those eyes told me he'd only go home and take it out on Chris. I couldn't live with myself if that happened. Saying those things would sure make me feel better, but it wouldn't do any good. He wouldn't listen to me, nothing would change, and it was best that I just let it go.

"…maybe he's really good to talk to."

"Hah, what a crock of shit."

"What the fuck's going on here?" A hand on my shoulder took me by surprise and I was more than relived to see Ace standing next to me.

"You know this girl?" Mr. Chambers slurred, blinking his eyes hard as if to clear the drunken blur.

"Yeah, she's my girlfriend. You're not giving her a hard time now are you Calvin?"

"It's OK," I said continuing to hold my tongue. "There was just a bit of a misunderstanding." Mr. Chambers scoffed as he swiveled back around on his barstool, like a creature skulking back to its lair, slouching to order another straight whiskey.

"Johnny boy," Ace's father cut in, looking me over with a suave smile. "You gonna introduce me to your lady friend here?"

"Wasn't plannin' on it."

"Alright, suit yourself. The names Junior," he said to me cordially, extending his hand out towards me. "And to whom do I have the pleasure?"

"Cassie," I smirked, feeling like my original impressions of him were being confirmed. I gave him my hand and he shook it gently, again glancing over me from head to toe. There was no doubt the guy was trying to flirt with me, but it didn't creep me out or make me feel uncomfortable. I actually found it kind of amusing since he looked so much like Ace, only about a quarter of a century older. Apart from being charismatic, he had an air of sophistication and intelligence about him which interested me. But I guess more than anything, I was just relieved that he seemed nothing like Mr. Chambers.

"And I bet that's short for Cassandra, not Cassidy. Am I right?"

"Yeah, but I don't really like it…"

"I've known a couple of Cassandra's over the years. Do you know the meaning of that name?"

"I do, but again, it's not me."

"Come on now," he said smoothly with a charming grin, his enticing eyes hiding no secrets. "I bet you've entangled a few in your time."

"Alright old man," Ace abruptly cut in, "enough of the sweet talk. We're outta here."

"What's the rush son? Now what are you drinking Cassie?" he asked as he reached behind him to take his glass of scotch from the bar. "The round's on me."

"You wish old man," Ace said weaving his fingers through mine. Then before I even got a chance to say, "nice to meet you," which would've been the polite thing to do after meeting one's potential father-in-law, Ace hauled me outta there. Boy, Eyeball was right… Ace really didn't like being around his old man. And I had a small inkling on at least part of the reason why.

"You've never really talked about him," I tried to say delicately as we climbed into the car.

"And it's gonna stay that way," he said bluntly, slamming his door closed. "There's only one thing you need to know about that old bastard, and that's that you don't go near him unless you're right by my side. Especially when he's fuckin' drunk. You understand me?"

"OK, sure…"

"I told Markus to tell you to wait in the car."

"Well he didn't…"

Ace backed out from the line of cars and then floored it out of the parking lot, kicking up a giant swirl of dust behind us. His old man was obviously a touchy subject, so I decided not to push it any further for the moment at least. The last thing I wanted was to get him in a bad mood… but that didn't mean I was any less curious. Ace had never spoken about his past at all. It was like a big black box of unknowns. With a huge padlock on it. I'd been accepting of his reluctance to talk about his life during the previous months, but now I was beginning to realize just how little I knew about him.

"So everything went alright with the car?" he asked to change the subject.

"Sure, it's at Markus's place, just like you wanted," I replied with an anxious twinge in my voice.

Ace suddenly paid less attention to the road and glanced at me with concern like he knew I was about to be the bearer of bad news. "Fuck. What?" I may've felt like I knew very little about him, but he was getting to know me too well.

"Well, to say it bluntly," I braced myself for his reaction, "Kyle knows it was you who stole his car the other night."

"Who told you that?"

"Right in the middle of the job, those guys in the other car that parked up behind Patrick's car at The View…"

"Patrick was driving a 1959 Chrysler Windsor. And the other was a '58 Chevy Impala convertible," Ace cut in.

"Right…"

"Well you gotta learn these things," he said very matter-of-factly.

"OK… well, the guys in the Impala showed up and I overheard them talking."

"And?"

I winced a little, reluctant to tell this part of the story. "They said Kyle knows it was you because I held them so you could get away."

Ace stared at the road ahead of him, nodding slowly as he took it all in, but he didn't seem overly concerned about it or pissed off at me. "I knew he would've worked it out. The whole thing wasn't half obvious."

"Sorry, it was a stupid move." I felt my face flush with embarrassment and regret, and turned my head away out towards the moonlit paddocks that were rushing by as we passed.

Ace heaved a heavy breath and I felt his hand rub my thigh. "It wasn't all your fault. It was my decision to take the car back, not yours."

"But you only did it to protect me. If I hadn't gotten involved in the first place…"

"It doesn't matter anymore. All that matters, is what we're gonna do about it."

"OK," I said, rubbing my hand over his still resting on my thigh, "so what are we gonna do?"

"Kill him." His hand slipped out from under mine and he reached for his box of cigarettes from the seat between us to take one.

"What?" I laughed, thinking he couldn't be serious. But then my cynical smile faded as I realized he'd already tried it once.

Ace put the thing between his lips before prying his zippo out of his front pocket to light it. "Why do you think I got you to steal Patrick's car tonight?" he asked, snapping it closed and throwing it on the seat between us.

"Enlighten me, please."

"I've known Kyle for a few years. We went to school together, and he was even one of my best customers at one time."

"One of your customers for what?"

"The point is that I know the guy, and he knows me. And he'll know that there was more to what we did the other night than boosting some random car to take it out joyriding. Would've been a different story if he'd never found out we're together, but once he knew, he would've figured out that I'd put you in the Lincoln so I could do the job. It would've looked too organized to be some spontaneous boost, and he would've noticed that."

"Shit… sorry Ace."

"That whole night was a complete fuck up, and so now we gotta throw him off the scent."

"By stealing another one? That doesn't make sense…"

"It makes perfect sense. Because now, Kyle will think I'm targeting him. Now he'll think I knew that was his Chevy, and I'd stolen it to fuck him off – cos now we've done it again with Patrick's Chrysler. This'll throw them off; this makes it personal."

"OK, but what about the cops? Patrick will ring them once he finds out his car's missing… he probably already has."

"And what's he gonna tell them? That he _thinks_ it was me cos I smacked him over not long before it went missing? The cops will probably come ask me about it, but without the car, they can't prove shit. And besides, I've got a whole pub full of people that can vouch that I was nowhere near Castle View at the time."

"So, that's why you got _me_ to do it? So you could cover your own ass? What about me?"

Ace stifled a laugh and smirked at me. "No one's gonna suspect you Cass, just like you said."

"Huh?" I went wide-eyed in surprise. "That was just some wild reasoning I whipped outta my ass to convince Markus to let me into this whole thing. Doesn't mean I'd rely on it!"

"No? Well I would, because I think it's a pretty fuckin' sure thing. I mean, look at you; you're a cute little girl that looks like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. People can't see past shit like that."

"And what if I was seen? You had me drive right through the middle of town when people were still about. Someone could've recognized the car and seen me driving it."

"Chances of that are pretty low, but that was a risk I was willing to take."

"Well gee, thanks a fucking lot!"

"Cass, calm down."

"Calm down! Why did I have to be the one taking the risk? If you wanted to make it personal, why didn't you take the fucking thing yourself?"

Ace's driveway came into view and we pulled in, rolling down the loose gravel right up to his deck. He killed the ignition, leaving us in complete silence, and then got out of the car, clunking his door behind him.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"We don't talk about this shit out here." He took one last drag from his cigarette and flicked it out across the yard.

We went inside and I closed the door behind me as Ace grabbed a beer from the fridge. He popped the top and took a swig, pacing slowly across the kitchen floor in thought as I sat on the edge of the table with my arms sternly folded, waiting for an answer.

"Well?" I impatiently prodded him.

He stared at me with a serious streak in his eyes, and his reluctance to speak made me feel like something from the black box was about to come flying out.

"Because the cops, lazy as the bastards are, they keep an eye on me around here. And the more this shit can be done without me around, the better."

"Right… so in other words, you wanna play me as your fucking scapegoat."

"No," he said firmly. "I'd never do that do you Cass."

"Oh really? Because that's sure what all this shit sounds like to me."

"I'm not putting you out there as a scapegoat," he said, stepping close to me and placing his beer beside me on the table. "In fact, if the worst does happen and the cops try to do you for it, I'll be taking the fall for _you_."

"Um…" I stared at him quizzically, "I don't understand."

He placed his hands at either side of my neck and softly rubbed my earlobes with his thumbs. "I got you into this, and I told you to trust me. So it's only right that I take the blame if it comes to that."

"But it was me who committed the crime…"

"Doesn't matter. If I offered myself up to the cops in exchange for you, they'd snap it up in a heartbeat."

"Why?"

"Because they just would."

"Well, OK…"

"In fact, if you _ever_ get caught red-handed or put up on charges for any of this business with the cars, I'll take the fall for you. You got my word on that. The risk is all on me babe."

"You're really serious about that, aren't you?"

"Dead serious."

"Well, I would never let you do that. Well, maybe for this one, since you didn't tell me what was really going on. But I wouldn't expect you to do that for me otherwise."

"You wouldn't be able to stop me though, would you?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Ace swearing to take the fall for me if I ever got caught? Taking me out to watch sunsets that he didn't really wanna watch was one thing, declaring me this kind of protection was another.

"Why have you never told me this before?"

"Because it's only been the last couple of days that I've been willing to do it. If you'd fucked up and gotten caught any time before now, then you would've paid the price. You know the risks and the penalties, you're getting paid, so if you went down for anything then that's just tough shit – don't get caught. But now…"

He was on the verge of uttering the words I so desperately wanted to hear; I could feel it. But he was holding back; I could feel that too. So I urged him to go further, a little cunningly perhaps. "But now, what? What's changed?"

He knew what I was doing, but strangely he still seemed determined not to go there. "Now I don't think I could let you go through that, even if I didn't have a choice."

"Why?" I then asked with a small sly smile.

"I think you know the answer to that." His hands slid higher to cup my face and he lent in close for a brief kiss, probably to distract me. All I could think was, _so close and yet so far_. But I wasn't disappointed. I didn't _need_ words to say what he was so clearly telling me through his soft, sentimental mood and that serious stare – those told me everything. "Now come on," he said snapping out of his somewhat hypnotic state back into reality. "We've got a few things to take care of."

* * *

The first thing Ace wanted to do was to get rid of the stolen Dodge that had been holed up in his garage for months because then we'd be clean if anyone came sniffing around. I whined a little about how much I loved that truck and how I never even got to sit in it, and so he shut me up good by letting me drive it up to Markus's place while he took the '49.

Once that was taken care of, on the way home we conjured up a cover story for what happened on the night of our run in with Kyle. I told Ace that Kyle didn't want to get the cops involved, but he said having a story at the ready would be worthwhile for if anyone else started asking questions. But if Kyle ever _did_ decide to involve the cops, Ace was sure they wouldn't put their best efforts in anyway - Kyle's Chevy wasn't technically stolen, only broken into. I sure hoped he was right because we couldn't come up with a story that was strong enough to withstand a full-blown police investigation, but it was plausible enough otherwise.

As for _why_ Kyle didn't want to involve the cops, there was only one explanation that fitted. "If the story's gonna come out, it'll be the whole story," Ace said. Kyle wanted to keep the full story under wraps because he was scared that I'd turn around and cry attempted rape. He'd attract far more heat for that than we would for busting the ignition and a lock on his car. He'd be stupid to go down that path. Patrick on the other hand, he had every reason to call the cops. The vehicle was missing and we had nothing on him. So, all I could do was hope that nobody had seen me driving it away and hope that I could stay under the radar like Ace was so certain I could.

After dropping off the Dodge, we went back to Aces. I hadn't eaten since breakfast and was starving, so the first thing I did was dive into the fridge for the bacon and a few eggs to cook us up a quick meal. After eating, Ace went to his room to make a quick phone call while I did the washing up – he'd sometimes cook, but I was _always_ left to do the washing up. I didn't think anything of the phone call until I finished the dishes and noticed that he'd closed his bedroom door. There shouldn't have been any reason for him to do that… and so my suspicions that he was up to something grew even stronger. Why Ace went to Sukey's was still a big mystery to me. He'd made it sound like he'd gone there for alibis, but really, he could've gone anywhere for that. He didn't need to go to a place he hated. The whole scenario still didn't make any sense.

I leant against the back of the couch with my arms folded, staring at his closed door down the hallway. I wondered whether I should forget about it, ask him about it, _accidently_ barge in, or eavesdrop through the door. But before I could make a firm decision the door opened and Ace walked out with his well-practiced poker face which told me absolutely nothing. My curious expression told him I was on the brink of asking questions, and so he craftily cupped my face in his hands and tried to kiss me with enough vigor to distract my mind away from that and onto other things. Distraction and avoidance tactics I call them – and usually he's dam good at them too. But this night, after what had already happened, I couldn't shake the desire to know.

I pulled away from him and stared into his eyes, showing my every suspicion. "Ace, what's going on?"

"It's just business. Nothing to do with the cars and nothing you need to worry about." He led me backwards through the house, down the hallway into his bedroom, kissing me all the way. Slowly I was lowered down onto the bed on my back with my legs hanging over the side and he leaned on top of me to begin tucking into my neck.

The urge to let him win and forget about it nudged at me, but I knew that the problem went beyond keeping some mere business deal from me. All night he'd been avoiding answering my questions – all I learnt from him was that the black box was far deeper and even more tightly locked that I first realized.

"Ace… why is it that every little piece of information I get from you is on a need to know basis only?"

He released the suction on my skin in the middle of one his creations. "Because you're already stressing about that other stuff and I don't want you to worry your pretty head about this as well, OK? If you need to know anything I'll tell you."

I sighed and restlessly rubbed my hands over his back as I tried to come up with some tactical way of saying what I wanted to without him getting all defensive and winding up in a foul mood. "It's not just that. I've known you for months now and there's still so much I don't know. I feel like you keep me in the dark about everything, unless it's something I _need_ to know."

He paused and raised his head up to look at me. "Is this about my old man again?"

"Part of it, yeah. You say I can't be around him but you don't tell me why. You say the cops are keeping an eye on you but you don't tell me the whole story. You say the cops would take you for me if you offered yourself, but then you completely avoid any explanation behind it. I get these little hints about things but that's where it always stops. Why are you hiding from me babe? Because you don't have to."

I'd obviously killed the mood completely because he rolled off me onto his back. He tucked his hands under his head and just lay there staring at the ceiling in the dim light that streamed in from the lounge. After a while I began to regret asking and tried to take it back. "Sorry, just forget I said anything, OK." I rolled onto my side and slipped my knee over his leg as an attempt to rope him back in.

"So you wanna know my life story huh?" he asked firmly, like he was gathering up the nerve to tell it.

"Well… if you just start with your old man, I'll be happy," I said, watching him with a hopeful grin.

"Alright… My mother was 16 years old when my old man knocked her up. He was 26. A fuckin' cradle snatcher. Once her parents found out that was pretty much her life over with cos she had to marry him whether she liked it or not. My old man took care of mom and me financially, but fuck did he suck as a husband. When he wasn't spending his spare time down at the pub he was shacked up with some other bird, usually in some other town, telling mom he was visiting my uncle. She never believed him of course, but she never did anything about it either. She just kinda accepted it like she thought she wasn't good enough for him. Maybe she thought she deserved it for letting him get her pregnant when she knew he didn't really love her – dunno. And whenever he _was_ around home, all he'd do was lay into the fuckin' scotch, take her to bed, and then lay into her."

"You mean… he used to hit her?"

"Yeah. Never touched her face though so she could still go out in public and pretend that everything was just fuckin' swell. But he'd always act innocent about it like the bruises were just from some really rough sex or something. I dunno… maybe that's exactly what it was."

"Sorry Ace… that sounds terrible."

"Yeah well, she don't have to put up with now."

"So where is your mom?"

"Dunno. Haven't seen her since the day after my 14th birthday. When I was really young we moved here from Nevada just so she could be closer to her mother who's in Motton, a few towns away. Did that just so she had somewhere to fuck off to when she got tired of being around my old man."

"Did she ever take you with her?"

"No, why would she? All I was to my mother Cass, was a mistake that ruined her fuckin' life." Ace paused his story for minute as he dwelled on that piece and I compassionately slid my hand over his bicep and held it for support. I could already see why he hadn't wanted to tell it – there were too many memories he'd rather forget.

"Anyway, as the years went on, she'd stay away longer. Sometimes it'd be for a week at a time, once she even stayed there a month. And then one time she went off to visit gran and just never came home. The old man never cared to go looking for her either. I think she would've found a new man and tried to start her life all over again. Can't say I blame her though."

"Did your old man ever lay into you?"

"Not when I was young. And not that often when I was growing up either. Usually when I got hided from the old man it was because I fuckin' deserved it. Otherwise he hardly noticed I was there. Whenever mom left town he'd be too busy out chasing new ass to be bothered with me. Fuck, that guy would bring home any stray piece of meat he could find. In fact, the only time he ever noticed I was home was when I had a girl with me – I learnt pretty quick not to leave them alone with him either. Dirty old bastard."

"I see…"

"My parents never gave a shit about me and I preferred it that way. I could go out, do whatever the fuck I liked, and even if they knew what I was up to they'd just look the other way. I never needed either of them to survive Cass – them or their fucked up relationship."

He'd been staring up at the ceiling the entire time he told me his story, and I watched him tell it with hardly a trace of emotion in his voice or expression on his face. Then he finally turned his head to look at me and I felt like I was really seeing him for the first time. "So. Can you see why I want nothing to do with him now?"

"Uh-huh," I nodded with a caring smile. I was so overwhelmed by his story that it took me a good minute or so to finish processing it all. You can learn so much about a person by hearing about their upbringing, and I finally had some explanation about why Ace is the way he is. It hadn't explained _everything_ there is to know about him, but overcoming his reluctance to speak was a large enough feat for one night. I just hoped it would help him to be more open with me about things in the future. And I wasn't going anywhere near his old man again without Ace there, that's for sure.

I rolled myself on top of his chest to lie on him with my knees pulled up at his sides, and stared down into his eyes as he gazed up at me. I assumed that after being made to relive his childhood, Ace would be in really shitty mood. But he seemed nonchalant about it. It was as if it had felt good to get it off his chest.

"Thank you," I smiled. "I know that was hard to say, but it explains _a lot _Ace. Explains why you're so smart, so resourceful, so sure of yourself – because you basically brought yourself up. I don't know how this is gonna sound but, despite everything you went through as a kid, I think everything worked out for the best. If you'd been brought up in a 'normal' home with parents who doted on you all your life, you wouldn't be the guy you are today. You wouldn't be as strong… not to mention stubborn," I quietly laughed, "and that means I wouldn't have half as much to love about you as I do." Strong emotions began to take over and as I stared down into his eyes I felt mine begin to well. "Fuck, sorry." Feeling a little embarrassed I tried to laugh it off and bent to wipe my eyes with the sleeve of his T-shirt. "I'm a bit tired."

"Excuses," he said with a soft grin, running his hands up my sides, along my skin underneath my shirt. "You're just a big fuckin' marshmallow like I told you."

"Am not," I quietly murmured. "I think you're going a little bit marshmallowey yourself."

"Am not," he quietly murmured back. "But you are special to me Cass."

A content grin unfurled and a feeling of warmth and security spread throughout me. He still hadn't released my long awaited 'L' word, but he didn't need to; I could see it in his eyes. I lowered my chin over his shoulder to hug him and felt his solid arms wrap around me.

"I wish tonight had ended differently," I mumbled into the hollow between the mattress and his neck. "You made such an effort for me and those bastards ruined it."

"Well, the night ain't over yet…"

I raised my head again and gazed down on him with interest. "What did you have in mind?"

Without answering he rolled me off him and stood to gather a large cotton blanket from the end of the bed. He stuffed the blanket under one arm, gently took my hand with the other and then headed down the hallway, pulling me along behind him. After battling to open the back door with the rusty hinges he took my hand again and led me down off the back deck and across the lawn. By now I was pretty sure I could guess what he had planned.

It was a fairly warm night, and the full moon must've still been somewhere high because it lit up the backyard so well that we could easily see where we were stepping. At the center of the huge yard, not too near to the overgrown mass of trees that lined the perimeter, Ace lay the blanket down on the long grass that was long overdue to be mown. Ace hardly ever does it, and I'd mowed them once before, but the sheer size of the property deterred any motivation to do it again. But the grass made for good cushioning as we lay side by side on the blanket, with Ace's arm wrapped around me as we stared up at the stars that were silently glimmering above us. I used to stargaze a lot as a child. I was simply fascinated by the exquisiteness and wonder of those little balls of gas that endlessly twinkled without a care in the world.

"I haven't done this for years," I said, snuggling into him close, using his shoulder as a pillow.

"Neither. And I've definitely never done it straight. It's just like watching…"

"Paint dry… I know," I chuckled, softly digging my fingers into his ribs.

"No… like watching grass grow," he corrected me. "Watching paint dry's different. Geez Cass, get it right…"

I chuckled some more at his lame smart ass joke, and then rolled myself on top of him, straddling his hips. "Well, whatever it's like, it's sure a lot more boring than what we _could_ be doing."

"Oh yeah, what's that?" he asked with a sexy smirk. He made himself comfortable by tucking both hands behind his head as if relaxing back and waiting for me show him.

"You don't know?" I asked, playing along with his game. "Would you like me to give you a big hint or a small hint?"

"Big hint," he said, keeping that sexy grin as he flicked his eyes down over me.

"OK…" I grabbed the bottom of my shirt and whipped it over my head, before unhooking my bra and setting them both aside. Feeling the fresh outdoor air touch my skin was incredibly erotic, and even though we were in a secluded area out in the country, miles from anyone and anywhere, the exposure was still extremely arousing. "Does that give you some idea?"

"I think I'm gonna need a bigger hint than that." His sexy grin was driving me wild.

"OK…" I rose to my feet and pulled my jeans and panties to my ankles, and then kicked them aside before lowering my now naked self back down onto his fully clothed body.

"Still not following ya," he sniggered.

I gave him a light-hearted scowl, playing frustrated, before shuffling backwards to sit on his thighs. "OK, maybe this will do it." I undid his pants, blatantly pulled his semi-hard cock out and briskly began to stroke it. "You get the picture now?"

"Oh, you mean you want me to fuck the shit outta you. Well, why didn't you just say so?" With that, he abruptly sat up and I squealed with laughter as he threw me backwards onto the soft grass-padded blanket, lubed me up a little and then gave me what I so desired. He arched his back with one hand on the ground to support him and the other holding my knee up tight against his hip so he could slap my ass every now and then. But he still respected what I'd said earlier and stayed well away from my bruised cervix.

"You're a cunning one Ace," I groaned as he pounded me fast. "This is what you had planned all along wasn't it?"

"Wrong again," he said, giving me a few last powerful thrusts. "What I had in mind was something more like this." He reduced his stride to slow and leisurely before leaning low for, what must have been, the most passionate kiss he'd given me since our first. He kissed me like he was harvesting my mouth for all of its sweetness, greedily stealing it all for himself. My entire soul instantly melted into ecstasy. God did I melt. His mouth then soon left mine and began planting affection all the way down my neck.

"Oh," I slyly whispered into his ear, "so you mean you wanted to make love to me. Well, why didn't you just say so?"

I felt the murmur of a laugh as his mouth began tenderly sucking on my skin, however there was no rebuttal or denial of it, as I was half-expecting from him. But even if he still wasn't quite ready to say it, I knew it was true. I could feel the heat of it emanating from him with each slow stroke. He was fully with me now, and the realization of that sent a strong sensation of warmth flooding from my heart to every nerve ending throughout my body.

I ran my hands up the soft skin of his back under his shirt, bunching it up at his neck, hinting that I wanted it off. He granted my wish and pushed himself up to pull it over his head, making me melt down again in awe of seeing his sexy body in pure blue moonlight. Wrapping my arms firmly around his neck, I hugged him in tight and opened my eyes to gaze into the wondrous balls of glistening light above us as he kept up his slow, sensual pace. And then, just as I wrapped my legs around his hips, I saw a shooting star go directly overhead towards the north. I didn't tell him though, but I secretly wished on it. I wished that this feeling of happiness and contentment would never end. I wanted Ace to be mine forever, until my last breath and beyond. Yeah, OK… so he was right; I was turning into a real fuckin' softie. Sue me.

Ace began picking up the pace again, but kept it sensual with the occasional kiss on the lips or gaze into my eyes. His heavy breaths which lay close to my ear soon became soft groans, and that told me he was getting close. My breaths, which had remained steady throughout, now held as I sat right on the verge of climax, just waiting for him to bring it all to a wonderful finale.

"Are you ready? You sure fuckin' feel like it," he panted in my ear.

"I'm there baby… right there."

And then with one last hearty groan from him, he held my head firmly to his shoulder with his hand and unloaded. Feeling him swell sent me whirling through one of the most deeply intense orgasms I've ever had. I tightened my grip around his neck and his waist, and moaned "Oh God, Ace!" so loudly that the neighbors from a mile away were sure to have heard. I held myself to him tight as he pounded through last few final waves, and then once I stopped crying out he slowed right down before coming to a complete halt and pulling out.

After letting my head down to rest on the soft blanket again, he stared into my eyes before giving me a light kiss on the forehead, and then on the lips. He then rolled off me and lay on his back panting, while I did the same, both of us staring up at the stars and trying to catch our breath.

"We should do this sort of stuff more often," I soon whispered.

He didn't reply with words, but I soon felt his hand gently rubbing my thigh in agreement.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it :) Comments and reviews please :)**


	30. Chapter 10: Unwelcome Visitors

**Unwelcome Visitors**

* * *

Sunlight poured through the curtains in Ace's room as I drowsily opened my eyes the next morning. He was sleeping peacefully beside me, flat on his stomach with his head and arms up under the pillow – the way he usually sleeps. I yawned as I lifted my head to glance over him to check the clock by his bedside - 8am - _Ugh… far too early. _We hadn't turned in until the wee hours of the morning and now exhaustion was now hitting me hard.

Ace had given me two more incredible moments of ecstasy that night, each just as sentimental as the first. The sensual feelings were still lingering, teasing me as I lay there watching what I could see of him buried amongst the bedding. My heart glowed with a warm sense of inner happiness and contentment that I could only describe as love. Letting myself walk deeper down that path was scary considering how rocky our relationship had been over the past months, and especially the past few days. We'd gone from extreme to extreme and had been tested in almost every way imaginable, yet there we were, still together at the end of it all, as if ignoring the bad and refusing to let each other go.

After drifting in and out of sleep for a while, I lazily opened my eyes again to see one of Ace's peep open under the pillow and then close again.

"Hey gorgeous," he mumbled.

"Hey," I blushed, beaming inside and out. He'd never called me that before and hearing those words in his soft voice made my belly flutter.

"What's the time?"

I lifted my heavy head off the pillow again to peer over him. "Nearly nine."

He groaned and buried his face into the mattress.

"What's the matter?" I asked softly.

"Gotta get started on that Chrysler. Get rid of the fuckin' thing." He lifted his head out from under the pillow and slumped it on top, his eyes a little bloodshot from the lack of sleep.

"Naw… really?" I reached over to run my fingers across the soft sun-kissed skin of his shoulder blades and then down the length of his spine, peeling the sheet back. "I was hoping we could go out and do something. You know, spend the day together. Seems like forever since we've done that." _After more sleep of course._

"Nah, I gotta go. But you can come with me if you want."

"To Markus's place? To watch you work on cars all day?" To me, that sounded no more fun than watching paint dry. "Erm… actually, I was thinking about paying Natalie another visit. Has Vince seen her over the last few days?"

"No idea, cos I don't care."

"Fair enough." I wearily propped myself up on my elbows to wriggle a little closer to him, and then with my cheesiest grin and in my cheekiest tone, I said, "But… you _are_ gonna be throwing us a huge birthday party soon, so you're gonna have to care sometime."

With one eye open he cocked an eyebrow, always keen for any excuse to get totaled. "What's this about?"

"It's her 18th and my 19th, and we're celebrating it together."

"You mean you're 18? Jesus… all this time I thought I was fucking a minor," he smirked on his pillow.

"You _did_ not," I gave his arm a playful shove. "It's gonna be near the end of September, and _you_ are gonna sort the party."

"Am I now?" he said with a hint of seduction in his smirk as he raised himself up onto his elbows. "Well, I expect to be repaid for doing shit that sounds like work."

I playfully bit my bottom lip, awestruck by the intoxicating ruggedness that emanated from him as he lingered close. "Repaid how exactly?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something."

I took the hint and eagerly rolled over onto my back to slide myself underneath him. "Are you sure you don't already have something in mind?"

He ran a firm hand down the length of my naked body before hooking it under my knee to spread me. "You might just have to wait and find out."

His kisses were deep and demanding as he rolled on top of me, and the heat between us rapidly intensified. And then strangely, he suddenly came to a complete halt and looked to one side with a frown, extending his ear as if he'd heard something and was now listening for it again.

"What is it?" I lightly panted, hoping it was nothing and he'd keep going. But unfortunately, I soon heard it too. Someone's fist was pounding on the front door.

"Get dressed." He hastily rolled off the bed, pulled on his faded blue Levi's and then rushed out into the hallway shirtless.

Ace's hastiness snapped me into rush mode because all I'd pictured in my mind was the cops standing at the front door. With my heart pounding I stumbled off the bed, grabbed my clothes off the floor and pulled them on as quickly as I could, piece by piece. I darted out into the hall, still doing up the button on my shorts, when Ace staunchly strode past me, back into his room.

"What's going on?" I asked curiously as he reached behind his door to grab a baseball bat. That was not a good sign… whoever it was.

"Whatever you do, stick to the story," he briefed me before staunchly striding back towards the kitchen, baseball bat in hand.

I stayed hot on his tail, both curious and nervous to find out whose fist was still pounding on the front door. Ace grabbed the knob and whisked the door open, choosing to hide the bat behind it for the moment.

"Where the fuck's my car?" Patrick barked, his eyes flaming with so much hostility that he looked about a second away from taking a swing at Ace. Kyle was loyally standing by his cousin with his head tilted to one side and a snide smirk playing on the corner of his lips. I was a little nervous to see him again after what he tried to do to me, but Ace was right there by my side this time. I took a sneaking glance behind them to see what they'd driven, and there on the front lawn, parked alongside Ace's '49, was Kyle's dark blue '55 Chevy looking as pristine as the day we swiped it. _Sigh…_ I loved that car. Why did it have to belong to such a prick?

"Well, look who it is," Ace said with a soft condescending smile. "You boys are cousins after all huh? Yeah, I can see the resemblance… especially around the nose."

I accidently let out a short, sharp giggle and then immediately cleared my throat to compose myself. Both guys glared at me and Kyle's snide smirk dropped into a bitter scowl. The two of them stood before us, both with their noses taped up and bruising extending to both cheeks. Kyle's bruises were fading into different shades of green and yellow after nearly a week of healing, but the dark smudges under his eyes told me that Ace had given him two pretty decent black ones. Patrick's bruising was more severe since it was still fresh and tender, and I cringed to think what his nose would look like underneath the tape.

"You didn't answer my question," Patrick said, turning his attention back to Ace.

"How the fuck should I know?" Ace frowned, his demeanor turning serious.

"Don't try to deny it Ace, we know it was you," Kyle joined in.

"Me that what?"

"Stole my fucking car!" Patrick's face was so flustered and hot with rage at hearing Ace's denial that you could've sworn you were about to see steam coming out of his ears.

"Oh, I see what you're doing. This is your lame ass attempt of getting some payback on me for smashing you over, right? So what now? You gonna go squawking to the cops about a whole ton of bullshit just to put a little bit of heat on me? Well, good fuckin' luck with that boys. Nice try."

Ace took a step back and grabbed the edge of the door with the intention of swinging it closed in their faces, but paused when Kyle mumbled to Patrick that they should check out the garage. The two of them eagerly turned on their heels and strode down the length of the deck as if they really thought they were gonna find it parked up in there. _Yeah right… what do you think we are? Novices?_

"It's empty you morons," Ace called after them, but it fell upon deaf ears. Still though, at that moment I think Ace and I were both quietly relieved that we'd had a warning to get rid of the Dodge the night before. Seeing that they weren't gonna take no for an answer, Ace casually slung the baseball bat over his shoulder before stepping out onto the deck to follow them. He seemed willing to tolerate them for now at least.

_God his back's sexy… _I thought to myself as cautiously tailed behind._ Geez Cass, stop eyeing him up for once and fucking focus…_

Ace and I stepped down off the deck and stood side-by-side on the warm grass in the beautiful morning sun, smirking and laughing to each other as those two struggled with the crappy garage doors. The vines and shrub that grew wild around the sides of the shed meant there was no way they could look through the windows, and even if they could, Ace had boarded them all up. So, for a whole five minutes they cursed and swore, trying to roll the doors on their rusty rails. Either of us could have told them the doors need to be lifted off the upper rails, but watching their frustrations was far too entertaining to give them any hints. Finally, they managed to lift one of the doors at one end so they could peer in through the crack.

"So he's fuckin' hidden it somewhere else," Patrick whispered to Kyle.

"You know where that Vince guy lives? We could check round there," Kyle whispered back.

"Nah, but I'm sure we could find out."

"Told you it was empty," Ace cut in, tightening his grip on the bat handle. "Now get the fuck off my property before I start getting in some batting practice."

Kyle smirked and shrugged off Ace's threats, trying to preserve his tough guy attitude… but all while keeping a close eye on the bat. "OK, we'll go, but this ain't over yet. Cos this ain't just about Patrick's car. It cost me 200 bucks to fix that Chevy and I ain't lettin' you get away with both."

"Am I supposed to know what you're talking about here?"

"You. Stealin' my Chevy. Don't play dumb with me Ace; I know it was you. That's why your little girlfriend here blocked us in so you could get away."

"That was nothin' more than a coincidence. That car had been giving us problems since the day we bought it."

Kyle threw his head back in laughter. "Come on Ace. You really think you can just lie to my face and I'll fall for it? What were you even doin' in Chamberlain that night? Huh?"

"Cos Cass was looking for a friend she used to know who lives out that way. She dropped me off to grab some food and was gonna head off to make a phone call at the pay phone down the road. And that's when her engine died and you tried to rape her for it, you son-of-a-bitch." Ace describing it so bluntly literally made me quiver inside. After that night I'd put all thoughts of it completely out of my mind, but hearing that sent me right back there again. Kyle's stare then suddenly turned on me, and a sickening feeling quirked in my stomach when he showed me a whisper of a depraved smile.

"Erm… you did what man?" Patrick squinted at his cousin in the bright sunlight, his anger at Ace slightly turning on him instead. You'd think he would've defended Kyle, laughed it off and assumed Ace was lying about it. But from the revulsion in his eyes you could tell that he knew Kyle well enough to know that it was entirely possible.

"You mean you left out the most important part of the story?" Ace frowned. "Shame on you Kyle."

"I didn't touch her," Kyle shrugged.

"Oh yeah you did. And she's been walking around with the bruises to prove it for the last week – seen by many, many witnesses."

"Bullshit. You hit her yourself!"

"You know that's not true," I jumped in, unable to refrain from speaking any longer. "And by the way, how's the ball sacs feeling?" I probably should've bit my tongue, but denying myself the pleasure of rubbing it in to him was too hard to pass up. Kyle sneered at me with a mild hint of the rage I'd seen in his eyes just after I'd grabbed his nuts and tried to rip them off. I must admit, I felt much better about the whole episode after seeing that reaction from him.

"I was gonna slaughter you for that," Ace sneered back at him. "And if you don't get the fuck off my property in 30 seconds, I'm gonna wrap this bat right around your fucking ears." He took one threatening step forwards and the two of them wisely began pacing backwards towards the Chevy, keeping a close eye on the bat.

Ace ushered them along, all the way back to the car, with me following closely behind. Patrick shook his head in disappointment at his cousin as he climbed into the passenger's side, and Kyle carelessly shrugged it off as he opened the driver's door.

"So what's the gripe you've got with us Ace?" Kyle asked, leaning on the door. He must've felt like he was now at a safe enough distance to start prodding him for answers. "Is this about that ten bucks I still owed you back at high school?"

"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that." Then in one fluent moment, Ace brought the bat down off his shoulder and powerfully swung it into Kyle's right headlight, making me jump, and scattering shards of glass all over the gravel below. "Consider it repaid."

"Fuck!" both boys shouted in unison.

"Now get the fuck outta here."

An agitated Kyle finally conceded and climbed into his Chevy, slamming the door behind him. Not wanting to risk turning around and having the same treatment done to one of his taillights, he threw it into reverse and floored it all the way up the gravel to the main highway. The Chevy then peeled out along the road in anger, leaving only a cloud of dust and the smell of burnt rubber behind.

"Wow… they really did think this was personal, didn't they?"

"Yup, worked like a charm," Ace said subtly pleased, swinging the bat over his shoulder again before making his way inside.

"But Kyle didn't believe a word of our story…"

"Doesn't matter. It's what everyone else believes that's important."

* * *

For the second time in two days, Patrick had killed the mood completely. My libido was scraping the floor after the harsh reminder of what I'd been through, and Ace milled around the house like his mind was elsewhere too. He took a shower while I threw together some breakfast and we hardly said a word to each other while we ate. The closest we came to rekindling the moment was when Ace kissed me before leaving for Markus's. He was so intense that I swore I was about to be swung around and pushed backwards towards the bedroom… but no. All I got was a slap on the ass, and he left.

I'd expressed some concern to him about the guys coming back, but he seemed sure they wouldn't. Kyle touching me again would be like signing his death warrant, and Patrick didn't really seem the type. I reconsidered going with him, but wanted to try for more sleep before heading into town to see Natalie.

Sleep never came though. After an hour of staring at the back of my eyelids, I gave up and decided to head into town for my visit. I took a long refreshing shower to revitalize me a little, and then - with the condescending look from Natalie's mother firmly planted in my mind – I dressed in what I thought would be appropriate enough to visit my friend. A simple light-blue button up shirt with sleeves, and tidy jeans.

I decided to park the truck around the corner of the Diner's block of shops because I didn't want Natalie's family to see me stepping out of a bad-ass looking '52 Ford pickup truck. I'd already made a bad impression on her mother, and I didn't want to give her even more reasons to dislike me.

With only one foot inside the Diner, my jaw literally dropped an inch. I stared around the room in amazement, wondering if I'd been tired enough to enter the wrong shop. The whole place had been completely renovated. The two lanes of old high backed booths which ran the length of the store, almost like church pews, had been ripped out and replaced with small round café style tables. Each table was neatly arranged with four cute powder blue padded chairs, and laid out on the surface were teacups, salt and pepper shakers, and a menu in the center. The front desk had been replaced by a new milk bar which ran the entire width of the Diner, and came complete with a long row of powder blue padded bar stools.

Customers were pouring in through the door behind me as I stood there with slack-jaw, taking in the overwhelming new sight. Some took seats at the café tables to look through the new menus, some headed for the milk bar, and there were even a couple of kids who rushed past me to spend 5c each at the Coca Cola vending machine up front.

A small piece of my heart broke to see that Rose and Violet's cherished treasure had been changed, but it was understandable once you saw the difference. As pompous and overly-religious as they were, these people obviously knew how to sell in this industry. Castle Rock had nothing like this in town and it was sure to be a popular hang out with the younger ones. Hell… they had a milk bar! Even I wanted to sit down and order a milkshake! But the chances of me getting to enjoy the new feel of the old place were looking incredibly low. Because there behind the counter, serving up ice creams and thick shakes, was Natalie who looked very nervous to see me.

As I patiently waited at the end of a long line to talk her, the tension grew increasingly thick between us. It was obvious that something was up, and as the line grew shorter, gradually bringing me closer, I became more and more anxious to find out what it was. Her twin brother soon loitered close by, keeping one eye on wiping tables and the other on his sister and me. I kinda got the feeling that he was the main reason for her distress. She tried her best to keep up appearances for her customers, but her agitation was too clear for anyone not to notice.

It was finally my turn to approach the counter, and although I felt completely awkward and uncomfortable, I had to find out what was up. "Hi Natalie, how are you?" I asked as I tentatively stepped up to the bar.

"Hi Cassie," she replied, shifting uncomfortably on her feet while glancing over at her brother whose eyes and ears were keeping a close watch on our conversation. "I'm good… but, I can't see you anymore." She quietly ripped a piece of paper off her notepad and quickly scribbled something on it.

"Oh, why not?"

Her eyes kept flicking over at her brother and I was curious about why she seemed to be paying more attention to him than me. "I just can't… I'm really sorry."

And then right when her brother's back was turned, just for a moment, she slipped me the piece of paper across the counter. I wanted to read it there and then, but I thought it too risky with her brother around so I crumpled it up in my hand to hide it. Besides, I already had a hunch about what it would say anyway – help.

"Well that's a shame… we hardly even got to know each other." I gave her a discreet nod to show that I understood her predicament.

"I know… I'm sorry," she said with a weak smile as if to say, _Yeah… sucks to be me._

"OK… I'll see you 'round then. Or not." Then with a weak smile in return, I turned my back on her and awkwardly made my way past her brother and out of there.

I'd never been more relieved to walk out of the Diner before in my life; I felt like the walls had been closing in to suffocate me. I shed a quick tear to think that the Blue Point Diner I once knew was history and would now only exist in my memories. I'm not usually one to get all sentimental over things, but that place had been my life saver in more ways than one. And although Rose and Violet were now long gone, I'd still held onto the place as if they were still there. But now, it seemed that the time had come to let all of that go.

I walked around the corner to take refuge in Ace's truck and then, after composing myself, unclenched Natalie's note from my fist and smoothed it out. _"Lemon tree, under rock,"_ the piece of paper said. It sounded like she'd planned ahead.

_Lemon tree? Where's a lemon tree around here?_ Mrs. Chalmers who lived about a block away had a huge lemon tree in her front yard - maybe that was the one she meant. Since I was already in the truck and feeling too lazy to walk, I decided to drive it up the road a block and park it right outside her house.

She's a funny old character, Mrs. Chalmers – _Aunt Evvie_ as she has everyone call her. Rose and Violet were very good friends with her and they'd all get together for a few games of cribbage every fortnight. I knew her fairly well too as I used to take deliveries of fresh bread to her house nearly every morning.

As I came through her little white gate, I noticed her peeking through her lounge room curtains. She always knew what was going on around her place and in the neighborhood - one of those neighborhood busy-bodies that every street seems to have. Once she realized it was me, she opened her front door and waved her cane in the air with a kind smile. "Cassie, dear girl! Hi! It's been so long!"

"It has Aunt Evvie, it has!" I waved back to her.

I yelled for her to stay put and that I would walk to her, but that woman never let her cane or her arthritis hold her back. Plus she was almost completely deaf and so she probably didn't even hear me. She stepped down onto her petite pebble path and I walked to her quickly to be welcomed with a warm hug.

"How are you? Are you well?" I yelled at her so she could hear me. But she suddenly seemed distracted by something. Her face became daunt and she anxiously glanced up and down the street. "What's the matter? Is everything OK?"

"You should be careful dear," she warned me. "Those bullies must be lurkin' 'round 'ere someplace. Don't wanna bump into _them_ now… especially that blond rascal."

At first I wasn't quite sure what she meant, and then noticed that she kept looking at Ace's truck. _Oh. Right. Those bullies._ I suddenly felt caught between a rock and a hard place. I knew she'd be disappointed in me if I told her the full truth, but what else could I say? She'd soon see me drive off in it, so I had to offer her some explanation. _Maybe I should've left it parked down the road after all…_

"Oh, no… it's OK. It's mine."

"Yours? That's yours?" she asked, her face twisted in confusion.

"Yeah… anyway, I was wondering if you knew Natalie from the Blue Point Diner."

But my attempt to scoot around the topic was blatantly ignored. She may be old and deaf, but she's not stupid.

"So, you know 'im?"

"Yeah… he's my… erm…" I wanted to come right out and say it to her proudly, but I just couldn't seem to bring myself to do it. She'd be upset with me, no doubt about that.

"Your beau?" she asked with a quizzical frown. "The blond one?"

"Yeah…" I could feel my cheeks turning their deepest shade of red ever.

"You're mixing with those young ruffians? Those scoundrels? Those good for nothings!"

While I respected how most of the townspeople felt about Ace and his boys, that was still my boyfriend she just called a scoundrel and I felt I had a duty to defend him. "They're not _that_ bad Aunt…"

"I don't believe my ears!" she interrupted me, her feathers visibly ruffled. "That boy's a thief!"

_Oh fuck… she knows about the cars? _My insides turned stone cold despite standing in the heat of the late morning sun.

"He robbed my house! Stole my jewelry box right off my dresser!"

"He did what?"

"Oh yes dear. Best you stay away from 'im."

"When was this? Are you sure it was him?"

"About a year ago. And I _know_ it was 'im. Who else would it've been?"

"So you mean… you didn't actually _see_ him?"

"Well, no… but, I _know_ Cassie dear. Just because the mongrel got away with it don't mean he's innocent. He's a right piece'a work that one. Caused nothin' but trouble since he moved 'ere when he was just a youngin'."

"So he wasn't arrested?"

"I called the police and they did an investigation, but in the end they said they didn't have enough evidence to arrest 'im! Always never enough evidence! But we all know it's 'im. Good for nothin' scoundrel. You stay away from that no-goodin' dear girl." And then with one last scowl towards Ace's pickup truck, she turned her back and scurried back into her house.

I was so taken-aback by what she'd said that I almost forgotten what I'd gone there for in the first place. But there in her front yard, amongst the weeds of her overgrown flower garden, was a lemon tree. I quickly scuffled over and spied a grey rock about the size of a large watermelon underneath. I rolled the heavy lump away from the base of the tree and there, squashed into the dirt, was a little pink envelope – a sealed letter from Natalie to me. I quickly snatched it up and made tracks back to Ace's truck, hoping she wouldn't think _I_ was now trying to rob her. Knowing that Mrs. Chalmers would be watching my every move I decided to head back to Ace's place before reading my letter. And sure enough, just as I pulled away from the curb, I saw curtain movement that told me she was most certainly keeping an eye on me.

* * *

_Cassie,_

_If you're reading this, then that means we've spoken and I've managed to lead you here. I would prefer to explain things to you in person, but that's just not possible right now. A letter is my only option._

_First of all, if I said anything hurtful to you, please know that I'm deeply sorry for it and I wouldn't have meant a word. Things haven't been easy at home lately. Nathan overheard us talking when you were here last and told Mother he heard you swearing. Mother confronted me about it and I told her that he must've misheard. She didn't believe me however, and I was grounded for a week for lying. I was so angry about it all that I decided to stand up for myself. I told her that I'm nearly eighteen years old and tired of being treated like a child. But again, she didn't listen and told me that if one is not controlled, then one will become out-of-control. She then told me that you're a bad influence and that if I don't tell you we can't see each other anymore, she'd send me back to California to live with my Grandmother who's even stricter than she is!_

_I hate my life! Everything is so unfair Cassie. I haven't seen Vince since I spoke to you because I've been grounded and haven't been allowed to visit Carol. I was looking forward to our birthday party together, but now I don't know if my parents will ever let me out of the house again, even to see her. I'm so depressed and lonely. I'd love to run away from here, but then where would I go? Maybe it doesn't matter. At least I'd be free._

_I know we don't know each other very well, but you've still been a great friend to me. I've never met anyone who's so open before, and it's sad that we may never get to spend time together again. Anyway, sorry for all of this Cassie, and if I never see you again then I wish you and Ace all the best with your lives._

_Your friend always,_

_Natalie_

I stretched out across Ace's bed on my stomach, letting my head collapse onto the soft sheets. Poor, poor Natalie. All I wanted to do at that moment was go back into town, barge into the Diner, run up to her and hug her. Maybe even steal her. I'd always respected her parents and understood that they only wanted to bring their daughter up right and had her best interests at heart. But after reading that letter, all respect for them left me. Controlling your kids is one thing, but doing it to the point where you're sending them into depression is another. I pondered on what I could do to help her. It sounded like she at least needed someone to talk to help bear the burden a little. I could either write back and hope she'd think to look under the rock for a reply to her letter… but I thought I could do better than that. I had to see her, and I knew exactly how to make it happen. But first I needed to speak to Vince.

* * *

"Hey babe," Ace softly breathed into my ear, running the tip of his nose behind it before briefly sucking on the lobe. "Miss me?"

I stirred from my short slumber to realize that I was still lying across his bed on my stomach, and he'd come to lie on top of me. "Mmmm…" I sighed, indulging in the feeling of being nestled underneath his warm, heavy body. "Of course I did." He slipped his hand under me to suggestively grope a breast, only to get groaned at. "Later. Tired. Need sleep."

"Come on. You want it, you know you do," he said, slowly grinding himself against me.

"Aww… just another half hour," I moaned. "I'm tired."

"Well," he said, rolling off me onto his side. "I might have a cure for that."

My ears pricked up and I lifted my head. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Told you I had something for you if you pulled off that job last night, didn't I?"

"Are you serious?" I propped myself up onto my elbows with interest. After the way I'd been acting on it, and after lecturing me with his little reality checks, I thought he'd never approve of me having it again let alone offer me more only a few days later.

"Yeah," he said with a deep sigh.

"But I've been so bad…"

"I know that. But you're gonna run into it again sooner or later and I think it's high time you learnt to control it instead of letting it control you." He reached up behind him to pull open the draw of the bedside dresser and dug out a pocket sized paper bag. I couldn't believe it'd been there all that time and I didn't even know. It wasn't the one he'd stolen off me; it had a lot more in it than mine did. He dangled it inches from my face between his thumb and forefinger, and stared at me with all seriousness in his eyes. "You need to start respecting this shit Cass, or it'll rule your fuckin' life."

"Yeah, I know." I guiltily averted my eyes away from him, knowing that it was easier said than done; when he had pulled it from the draw I'd licked my lips.

"You got three options. You can either give it up, learn to handle it, or let it drive you into the ground. It's your choice." He tossed the packet onto the bed between us and I stared at it intently.

I knew what he said was true; I had to deal with this stuff one way or another. Giving it up would've been the wise thing to do, but it'd also be the most difficult. Like he said, I would surely run into it again… hell, I had complete unrestricted access to the supplier and could easily order as much of the shit for myself as I wanted to. Even if I could resist doing that, Carl would no doubt try to slip me some every now and then. He's a dealer – addiction means money. He wouldn't care if I told him I never wanted to do it again; he'd just try to change my mind. He'd probably line a few up right there in front of me and throw me the tooter. Now how on earth would I find the strength to turn that down time after time?

"What are you thinking?" Ace asked me after a little while.

"That I know how serious this is… I wish I could handle it like you can, but I just don't know how."

"Well, I can help you with that, but you gotta listen to me. No more of this whining like a spoilt little brat when you don't get your way. OK?"

"Mmm-hmm… fair enough."

"So is that what you wanna do?"

"Feels so weak to say it, but yeah, that's what I wanna do."

"Doing this every now and then isn't weak Cass. Letting it take over your life is what's weak. Always remember that."

"OK," I nodded with a small grin. "But… after a while, if I feel like I'm losing the battle, will you help me call it quits?"

"Sure babe, I'll do anything you need me to."

Deep down I knew that my intentions were genuine and I was happy about that. I knew the seriousness of the situation, how Ace felt about my behavior, and that I could lose him over it if I didn't learn to control my urges. If I did find myself losing the battle, then I would indeed try to call it quits. Of course, that would mean ceasing to see Carl and possibly even giving up the deal. But if it had to come to that then I was willing to do it. Ace was more important to me than money, and even more important than that small amount of self-reliance that I still clung to, which the deal gave me. But after Ace's little pep talk I suddenly had an extreme amount of belief in myself that I could win and have both. I was fucking determined not to let this beat me.

Ace eagerly rolled over to sit on the edge of the bed before taking a small mirror and razor from the draw of the bedside dresser. He never usually kept that sort of thing in there; it was always hidden under the loose floorboard at the end of his room. I guessed he'd been treating himself to it over the last couple of days while I'd been away. He laid everything on top of the dresser and tipped the bag up for two big white rocks to come rolling out onto the mirror.

"Thin ones please," I said, remembering what Keith had told me, so long ago.

"You're gettin' thin ones, don't worry."

While Ace did the chopping, I sat up next to him with my heart already pounding hard. I was anxious, excited and scared all at the same time. Ace cut me two thin lines like I'd asked, and two big dirty fat ones for himself. When I was used to matching anything anyone else could do, seeing the difference in size made me feel inadequate. He then took a loose crinkle-free $10 note from his draw, rolled it up, and then sucked up an entire big fat one. Greedy bastard.

"Still want?" he sniffed, offering it to me.

"Uh-huh." After seeing him do that, there was no way I was gonna miss out. I took the note and the mirror from him and had one of my little inadequate looking thin ones. But although it looked scanty, it did the trick. My body immediately shed the tiredness as if a weighty layer of skin had been peeled away to leave me feeling rejuvenated and replenished. I went from feeling fatigued to a million bucks in a matter of seconds.

"How you feeling?" he asked, taking the things from me and placing them aside on the dresser.

"I feel… in-fucking-credible." My heart was racing so fast that I half-expected it to come beating out of my chest, and my brain was whirring at the speed of a cyclone. "So, come on! What are we gonna do?" I asked, bouncing on the bed beside him like I couldn't contain the amount of energy that was surging through my body – or at least, I didn't want to contain it.

"Fucking hell," he laughed at me, "settle down a bit…"

"I know, let's go put a record on!" I bolted out into the lounge and knelt down in the corner to sift through Ace's vinyl collection. He likes music, but he's not what you'd call a _music lover_ – not like Keith – and so his collection was limited. But as I scoured though each record from Jerry Lee Lewis to Hank Williams, I realized he had a few more than I remembered. "Did you buy more records Ace?" I called out to him, but he didn't seem to hear me. I finally rested my decision on Carl Perkins – Blue Suede Shoes. I love that version of the song – the original version. You don't hear it too often these days because they plaster Elvis's version over the airwaves instead. The last time I'd heard the original was at Keith's place; he had that record too.

I jumped to my feet and pulled the record out of its slip before setting it down on the turntable. "Come on Ace!" I called to him as I flicked the switch on and put the needle down. "It's gonna start!"

Ace waltzed out of the bedroom sniffing and wiping at his nose with the back of his hand, making me certain that he'd gone ahead and had his second big fatty. Not that I cared much.

"Well it's one for the money… two for the show… three to get ready… now GO CAT GO!" I sang, crazily dancing and jumping around the room while Ace stood at the doorway, shaking his head and laughing under his breath. I danced and spun around towards him before taking his hands to pull him into the lounge. "Come on Ace!"

"You're way to fuckin' hyperactive girl." He brushed my shoulder, snubbing me as he moved to the turntable to grab a handful of records to shuffle through.

"Naw… killjoy…" I pouted. Blushing a little, I stopped my erratic movements which I called dancing and scuffled over to see what else he'd recently added to his collection. Artists like Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry went by, and then I saw one of my favorites. It was _The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You_, which I absolutely adored. "Ooh, that one!" I went grab it, but he pulled away.

"That fuckin' sappy shit? What do you wanna listen to that for?"

"Well… why'd you buy it then?"

"Fine," he sighed, taking it from the pile and placing the rest down. "Whatever's gonna shut you up." Once Blue Suede Shoes finished, I removed it while he pulled the new record from its sleeve. He gave it a slick spin between his palms before setting it on the turntable and placing the needle down.

On hearing the first bar of the song, I melted.

_My love must be a kind of blind love. I can't see anyone but you._

I closed my eyes and hummed along to the lyrics, grinning blissfully and moving slowly on my feet… because I just _had_ to move.

_Are the stars out tonight? I don't know if it's cloudy or bright._

_I only have eyes for you, dear._

"You're a worry sometimes Cass." Ace's mood seemed to mellow down as the soft, deep tones of the song filled the room. He entwined his fingers through mine and pulled me to him before slipping his arms around my waist.

"I'm just having fun," I pouted up at him with my best puppy dog eyes. "I'm just making the most of the buzz."

"Well you'd better not act like that in public; Jesus, everyone would think you're on fuckin' drugs or something."

"Stop worrying! I'd be fine! I can handle _that_ part of it… it's the comedowns I have problems with."

I heaved a sigh and pressed my cheek against his snuggly soft white T-shirt. I lavished in the feeling of being wrapped up in his strong arms as the velvety sounds filled my ears. I slowly began to rock on my feet again, and Ace pulled me in tighter before slowly beginning to rock with me.

_You are here, so am I._

_Maybe millions of people go by, but they all disappear from view._

_And I only have eyes for you._

As the song faded to leave us silence, we stopped rocking but stayed locked in our warm embrace. Even if he'd tried to pull away I wouldn't have let him; I wanted that moment to last for all eternity.

"So… I guess you're not tired anymore then." He finally said after letting me have my way for a while. I felt his warm fingers snake up my back to mischievously unhook my bra.

"Trying to butter me up now, are we?" I glanced up at him with a knowing grin.

"Come on, you know I don't need to butter you up to get you on your back," he said softly. "If I want you, I'll just take you."

"Hmm… good point."

"But, if I _was_ trying to butter you up…" he leant over to pick up the needle and moved it to the edge of the record to start the song again, "then my plan would be working, wouldn't it?"

"When don't your plans work?" I chuckled.

* * *

**I hope everyone's still enjoying this and are not feeling like the story's dragging too much. It's now ****mammoth compared to what I originally intended it to be, it was supposed to be simple! Lol... It wasn't supposed to be nearly as intricate as it is now, but I kinda like making things a little bit tricky - its fun and challenging. I just hope the ideas I'm trying to put across are coming through clearly enough, and the number of different storylines isn't too much to take in.**

**I thought I'd throw a song in there for something a little bit different. I actually wanted to use _James Brown - It's a Man's World_, but that didn't come out until 1966 :( Dang it...lol Ah well, I like the Flamingos song too, it's just a bit more sappy lol.**

**So... 10 ****points for whoever can guess why Ace suddenly has a somewhat larger record collection than he used to ;) There's a hint in the last scene of Chapter 7 - No Remorse :D**


	31. Chapter 11: Revelations

**Revelations**

_Part 4 of this chapter has been extended - I decided to put a different spin on it, so you might like to reread :)_

* * *

"For fucks sake, fuck off!" Ace's growl jolted me awake from my deep slumber and the mattress bobbed underneath me as he slid off the bed.

"What's going on?" I grizzled, my words barely legible.

"If that's Jefferson again I'm smashing his fuckin' windscreen." He pulled on his faded blue Levi's, grabbed the baseball bat from behind his door and rushed out of the room.

I strained to sit upright, with my body feeling like a lead weight, and tried to kick my brain into gear. The whole room looked hazy as if there were a fine mist in the air. No matter how hard I blinked the cloudiness wouldn't clear. I thought I'd been tired the day before but that was nothing compared to how I was feeling now. I hadn't felt that fatigued since… well, since the last time I'd stayed up all night doing coke.

I was tempted to let Ace deal with it, bury my head under the pillow and go back to sleep. But I thought about everything that was said the night before and was determined not to let the comedown beat me. I had to learn to accept that I'd had my fun and was now suffering the consequences… kinda like a really big fuckin' hangover. So I rolled off the bed and hobbled around the room, picking up the pieces of my clothing that had been carelessly strewn across the floor to dress myself. I ran my hands through my hair to fix it a little, but knew I'd still have that bleary-eyed look about me like I'd just woken up and was suffering from some kind of self-inflicted punishment. I just hoped there was nobody important at the door.

"Well, it's always a pleasure comin' out on these visits to see you boy." I recognized the deep-baritone voice in an instant and my hope of it being no one important was let down. I stumbled out of the room and down the hall to see Ace standing at the front door talking to none other than the Sheriff. _Fuck... another great start to the day._

I trod into the kitchen and wrapped my arm around Ace's bare waist, mainly to help keep my balance. Sheriff Bannerman stood before us on our shitty front deck in his neatly pressed, official tan uniform, complete with gold Sheriff's badge and straw hat. He's an older guy, probably in his mid-fifties, with silver-framed glasses and an _'I don't take no bullshit'_ aura about him.

"I don't believe I've formally met your new girlfriend," he said. "Won't you introduce us?"

The fact that he didn't recognize me really got my back up. I mean, how could he forget? I'd basically begged him to help me find a place to stay but he just shooed me out the door like I was too unimportant to help. And now it seemed that I was too unimportant to remember.

"Haven't met me?" I huffed. "Well I wish I could forget you just as easily."

"I'm sorry?" He gave me a confused sideways look which confirmed to me that he really had no idea what I was talking about.

"Months ago I came to you asking for help and you just threw me…"

"Cass," Ace interrupted. "Let it go." As much as he would've liked to have seen me rip shit into the Sheriff, he didn't want him to know I'd been roaming the streets at around the time stores were being broken into. The last thing we needed was for him to put two and two together.

"So, it's Cass is it?"

"Cassie actually," I mumbled. "Only my friends call me Cass."

"Cassie it is then. Sheriff George Bannerman," he said with an outstretched hand. As I reluctantly shook it he stared at me hard in thought like he was trying to remember my face but couldn't quite get there. "Well it's good to see you've moved on son," he finally turned his attention back to Ace. "Couldn't have been soon enough."

"Well at least we agree on something. So you gonna get on with it and tell me what I've done this time?"

"Just here to make a few enquiries. We've had a report of a stolen vehicle that you might know something about."

"Uh-huh," Ace staunchly folded his arms. "So that little dipshit did call you on me then."

"Where were you between the hours of 8:30 and 10:30pm on Sunday night?"

"You're wasting your time officer. It wasn't me. And I know nothing about it."

"Well Mr. Jefferson has good reason to believe it was you, don't you think? After all, you did break the boy's nose only an hour earlier."

"Hey, he picked a fight with me. We were minding our own business when he showed up and…."

"Just answer the question. Where did you go after the fight?"

"Alright, Cass and I headed down to Sukey's after that. And about 101 alibies will be able to confirm that story if you'd like to make some further enquiries there Sheriff."

"Thank you, I will," he said writing on his little notepad. "And can you confirm this story too Cassie?"

"Absolutely." It crossed my mind that if the Sheriff did make enquiries there, the story wouldn't completely stack up - I'd arrived ages after Ace. But what could I say? Bringing up that point might sound suspicious. So I decided to say nothing and hoped that no one at the bar would bring that little detail to his attention.

For about the next half an hour, the Sheriff drilled Ace for information. The questions came in thick and fast as he kept his eyes fixated on him, carefully searching for cracks in his story and scanning his well-practiced poker face for lies. Up until then, I hadn't thought anything of the Sheriff knocking on the door instead of the usual boys in blue. But as I carefully listened to the depth of his questions, I began to realize that this wasn't some routine inquiry. He'd taken it upon himself to deal with the investigation personally. He'd been presented with an opportunity to take Ace down and he was gonna make the most of it. Unfortunately for him, there wasn't a trace of solid proof to be found.

I was amazed that he'd been so intent on drilling Ace that he'd completely overlooked me on everything. There I was, the culprit, standing inches from him and he didn't even _consider_ me! But I didn't feel like I was off the hook just yet. I'd entered the bar well after Ace. All it would take is for one person to bring that point to light and the missiles could be turned to point straight in my direction.

"Did you make contact with any of your associates while you were at Sukey's? All it takes is a phone call."

"You know, I'm starting to get really fuckin' pissed off about always havin' the finger pointed at me every time something goes wrong in this shithole of a town. Maybe you should write _that_ down in your little notebook."

"Watch your language son. Now, answer the question."

"I didn't make any phone calls while I was there. Just ask the bar tender."

"I sure will," he said, adding another note to his long list. "I'll be carrying out a very thorough investigation on this. You can count on that."

"Well I wish you all the very best of luck," Ace said sarcastically.

"Now, about the two of you going down to Sukey's," he continued, pocketing his little notebook. "I warned you not to enter any bar until you're of legal age. Sukey's Tavern, The Mellow Tiger, Irby's, and not to mention the liquor stores, are off-limits to minors. That's the law son."

"Well I have a small problem with that."

"Like I said, it's the law. I don't care a hoot whether you like it or not."

"But it just doesn't seem right that you're enforcing the law on us and letting your daughter roam free to do as she pleases. That night you kicked us outta Irby's, she was right there with us."

_Holy shit… I knew I'd heard that name Bannerman somewhere before… Sarah Bannerman._

The Sheriff heaved a heavy sigh. "Is that so?" He then opened his mouth to refute Ace's comment, but soon closed it again. George Bannerman is an honest man, and he couldn't deny what he knew to be true. His whole demeanor lost its hard ass edge as he was forced to take a step down from his high-haunches onto our level.

"Dam straight… _Sheriff. _And I'm sure plenty of people would remember her being there too. Ask around if you don't believe me."

"Alright, you've made your point. But that won't be happening again, I can assure you."

"Come on George, you know you can't keep that kid on a leash. And what's good for her, is good for us."

The Sheriff stooped a little as he realized he'd lost this dispute. He and Ace may not have seen eye to eye on most things, but they were certainly in total agreement when it came to Sarah.

"Now, is there anything else you'd like to waste our time on today?" Ace asked.

"I think that just about covers it. But I'm keeping a close eye on you boy. So you'd better keep your nose clean."

"Works for me, see ya round." Ace stepped us back and swung the door closed in the Sheriffs face so hard I thought the pressed glass might shatter.

My eyes went wide in astonishment at Ace's nerve. I marveled at how he could act so arrogant towards a man of such high authority and get away with it. Of course, I was thrilled that he had. I was feeling so bitter and twisted over the fact that the Sheriff didn't remember me that I wanted any smidgen of revenge I could get.

"So, feel like goin' into town for a round of pool later?" he smirked.

"Ace, you never fail to astound me. I can't believe you just did that!"

"That daughter of his is always gonna give him grief no matter what he does. Why not play it to our advantage?"

After a little giggle at his cockiness I wrapped my arms around his neck and stared into his eyes with admiration for a moment. "Wow… Patrick was right. You really _do_ think you can do whatever you want, whenever you want."

Ace stifled a laugh. "No… I don't _think_ I can, I can."

* * *

**2**

That evening, after an afternoon of some serious sleeping, we went to Irby's just as planned. I was a little nervous about the idea at first but that was easily cured with a couple of lines. Ace could hardly hold me down after those – I was now so excited that I think he'd become the nervous one. But once we arrived in town and other people were around, I tamed it down a lot. I was high as a kite but still understood how serious it would be if anyone noticed that we were anything but normal. But it wasn't too much of a worry in a small town like Castle Rock. Keith describing the townspeople as being unsuspecting pushovers was dead on.

As our tires met the curb of the parking strip out front of Irby's, Vince casually stepped out of the bar, thumbs jammed in his pockets, and began walking up the street in the opposite direction.

"Vince!" Ace called as we slammed our doors closed behind us. "Where the fuck are you goin?"

He stopped and swung his solid frame around to face us as we reached him on the sidewalk. "Gotta few things to do tonight. Might be back later, dunno."

"Bannerman given you any trouble yet?"

"Ain't seen him. Sarah's in there though," he smirked. "I reckon she's hangin' around, waitin' for you to show. She knows what you said to her old man this morning too, so watch out," he laughed with sarcasm. "Anyway, I gotta make tracks."

"Whatever," Ace said, his arm cloaking around my shoulders. As he opened the door to lead me inside, I glanced at Vince striding up street and thought about Natalie. She'd want me to tell Vince what was going on, wouldn't she? And I had to talk to him anyway because I wanted to find out which of the three bedrooms in the small home belonged to her so I could visit. Sticking close to my man when Sarah was on the prowl was important to me, but I figured this would only take a minute. What damage could she possibly do in that time? So I decided to seize the opportunity, and told Ace my plans before running to catch up to him.

"Vince," I slowed down to walk beside him. "Have you got a minute?"

"What do you want?" he frowned at me. He jammed his thumbs in his pockets again and straightened his posture as he casually strutted down the street. "Can't you see I'm in a hurry here?" He was obviously in the mood for sarcasm that afternoon.

"I just wanted to tell you that I saw Natalie the other day."

"Who?"

"Yeah… I know you haven't seen her in a while. She's been grounded. Her parents aren't letting her out of their sight."

"That ain't no excuse. If she really wanted to see me, she would. All she has to do is jump out her window and come over. She knows where I live."

"But, you can't expect her to do that! If she got caught it'd only make things worse for her!"

Vince suddenly stopped in a huff and turned to face me with frustration in his eyes. "I know she's got it rough with her folks, but that don't mean she can't do what she wants. Hell, if my parents tried to hole me up, I'd stick two middle fingers in their faces and tell them to go fuck themselves. She's just being a pussy Cass. And I'm the one who's suffering."

"Oh, _you're_ suffering?" I asked, both shocked and annoyed by his lack of sympathy.

"Yeah. And I think I've been far too patient with her."

"Patient!"

"Let me ask you a question. If you left Ace hanging out for months, wouldn't you feel the least bit bad about it?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Well she don't feel bad. She don't give a fuck. Literally!" Ace starts climbing the walls after two days. Drawing on that, I was beginning to see his point. "You tell her that any time she wants me to come pick her up, I will. And if it don't happen real soon then I'm done. It just ain't worth waiting for any longer." He turned and began walking off again, and I ran up to him.

"Wait… which bedroom's hers?"

"The one on the end, nearest the road."

"Oh, that's my old room."

"Hey, I got shit to do alright? Get off my tail."

I didn't care if they broke up – in my eyes that would be better for the both of them. What I cared about was that I'd be wholly responsible for it. Natalie had made it clear that she wanted to 'experience new things' and if it weren't for me they'd be progressing towards that. If I hadn't given her mother so many reasons to dislike me, things might've been OK. But no, instead I got Natalie grounded and reduced the lack of time her and Vince got to spend with each other from fuck all right down to zilch. It was my fault Natalie was suffering and going crazy, stuck inside like a bird in a cage. Some friend I was.

* * *

**3**

My good feelings had virtually become mush by the time I walked back to the bar. The excitement I had was now drooping around my ankles and I nearly tripped over my sagging bottom lip. I pushed the door open and wandered through the usual smoke haze that hung low in the air, barely noticing the stares of the other patrons. They'd been stunned to see us all waltz back in there after such a firm warning from the Sheriff. Little did they know that he'd had a change of heart. Personally, I figured he'd steer clear of the place from now on to avoid having the 'Sarah' argument all over again in public. Word had spread to the rest of the gang pretty quickly though – everyone was in. Billy and Charlie were on the pool table at the far end, and Eyeball, Jack and Fuzzy were in the booth getting through a bottle of Bell's. But Ace was nowhere to be seen… and neither was Sarah.

"Eyeball, where's Ace?" I asked, approaching where he lazed in the center of his side of the booth.

"He's umm… wait…" his eyes darted around the bar. "He was here a second ago…"

"He went out the back a few minutes ago." The girl's voice took me by surprise. _Sarah_ immediately sprung to mind, but the tone was much deeper than hers. Sarah's voice reminds me of a little ten year old. The voice didn't have any traces of malice in it either, so it definitely couldn't have been her.

I twisted my head to see a beautiful girl standing at my height behind me, whose auburn hair flowed around her shoulders in adorable tight ringlets. I'm sure she was our age, but her hair and baby doll face made her look fifteen. "Do you mind if I get through?" she giggled, probably at my lock-jawed expression.

"Oh… sure. Sorry." I moved aside and watched with wide eyes as she slid into the booth and huddled in close to Eyeball. She grinned and rubbed his thigh as he shrouded his arm around her shoulders. "OK…" I stared stunned, taking a couple of steps backwards behind the booth so they couldn't see me. I caught Billy's attention though. "Who the fuck is that?" I mouthed to him nice and clear, pointing directly down at her head. But all I got in return was a useless shoulder shrug.

After a dramatic roll of the eyes I headed towards the rear of the room. I stepped from the main room into the small isolated lobby like space which leads to the back door. The door itself was wide open, but the screen door was closed. I went to open it and walk out, but then stopped when I saw Ace leaning back against the adjacent brick wall talking to Sarah who was standing by him. I thought to charge out and interrupt them, but then decided that listening in for a while couldn't hurt. The isolation of the lobby from the main room meant I could hear every word, but better yet, the screen door meant I could see all while being practically invisible.

"I don't owe you anything," Ace said firmly as he lit up a cigarette.

"All I'm asking for is an explanation." She spoke in a voice so sweet it was sickly. It was obvious she was trying to suck up to him. But it wasn't doing her any favors.

"Alright, two reasons. One, you're a bitch. Two, I met Cass."

"Cass," her sweet voice suddenly turned sour. "What is it about _her_ that's so great? I mean, she's _so_ plain Jane… she doesn't even dress like a girl. She dresses like a tomboy."

"Yeah, but you ain't seen what she's got underneath." He wolf-whistled low and I blushed at the compliment.

"She's not even loyal to you Ace. I was always loyal."

"She _is_ loyal."

"Oh yeah? What about Keith? She slept with him didn't she?"

"She said she didn't."

"Well of course she would, but that doesn't mean she didn't. And she's still hot for him; I know that for a fact. Last week she was practically drooling over him."

"You know I don't like it when you try to fuck with me Sarah."

"It's the truth! She was doing it right when she was sitting on your lap! And when I confronted her about it, she didn't even try to deny it! You'd better keep an eye on her cos I'm tellin' you, now that you've let her get away with it once she'll try it again."

"What do you mean you confronted her?"

"Well… we had a conversation…"

"You stay the fuck away from her. I know the kind of shit that comes out of your mouth."

"My mouth? You should've heard the things she was saying to me! Oh, you're too unimportant for Ace to bother with Sarah. You're such an attention seeker. You're nothing but an insignificant stray dog. She called me a dog! How dare she! I've never been so insulted in all my life!"

"Oh yeah? And what did you say to her? You must've stirred her up somehow."

"I only told her that she should be upfront with you and that she shouldn't keep secrets. I've never kept anything from you Ace," her voice switched sweet again. "I've always been honest with you. And whatever I did wrong in our relationship, I can fix it. Just give me a chance."

"There's far too much about you that needs fixing, and still none of it would ever make me wanna take you back."

"But why not?"

"Because I got a girl. I don't need anyone else."

"Why are you being like this?" she pleaded. It seemed her next best tactic was to turn on the waterworks. "I stood up for you when everyone else was against you! When you asked me to talk to daddy for you, I did it! I was always there for you!" The back car park was filled with high-pitch little girl screams now, and I was close enough to see a tear shed from each eye of her frustrated and flushed little girl face.

"That was just an idea. I never meant you had to _do_ it. Fuck, I had nothin' to worry about – I didn't do it. Any of it."

"I know you didn't. But I still went to him! I had to try! I didn't want them to treat you like that anymore! Don't you see how much I care about you?"

"All you care about is getting your own way. That's why this is so hard for you, cos you're not used to being told no."

"That's not true," she sniveled, her eyes trying to force out more tears to help her case. She could see she was losing the battle and Sarah doesn't like to lose. "I got him off your back, didn't I?"

"It seemed that way for a while, but turns out he's watching me closer than ever right now. He even came round this morning, hammering me with questions about some stolen car."

"Well, I'll talk to him again!"

"Nothing you say is gonna make him see things any differently. If it didn't work the first time, it ain't gonna work the second."

"I can make it work. Just give me another chance. Please Ace… I miss you…"

"Tell someone who cares." Ace flicked his cigarette butt away and kicked off the wall.

I sprinted so fast back to the booth that I panted for a moment after forcing Billy aside to squash in next to him. "I never left, got it?" I gazed around at everyone in the booth who's attention was now fully on me. "Act natural!" I whispered, just before Ace appeared. "Hi babe, where you been?" I asked as he slid in across from me, next to Eyeball's new girl.

"Just… clearing up a couple things. I'll tell you later."

* * *

**4**

Over the next few days things fell silent for Ace and I. None of the guys came around and we didn't hear from Kyle, Patrick or the Sheriff at all. Ace would spend his days at Markus's, come home, get on the coke with me and then we'd either stay home and ride it out or hit the pool tables at Irby's. Irby never had a problem selling to us after the Sheriff's warning. Hell, we spent so much money in there that if we left it'd create a substantial dent in his wallet.

But a silent few days didn't mean a break from stress and drama. Ever since Ace's conversation with Sarah he'd been in a mopey mood. He hadn't talked to me about it at all like he said he would, but I could tell that the things she'd said were seeping into his mind. Ace was usually a fun guy to be around – in his own special way – but during those few days he was anything but. Every conversation I started would be broken off, our games of pool together were dull and boring and our intimacy lost its spark. All the fun had been sucked out of him and therefore sucked out of our relationship. It got to a point where I couldn't take it any longer. I knew exactly what was causing him to act this way and I needed to snap him out of it. So one day, before he left for Markus's place in the morning I built up the courage to confront him.

"Is everything alright Ace?"

"Course. See you later."

I followed him as he stepped down off the deck and grabbed his arm to stop him from opening the car door. "Something's up. You've barely said a word to me these last few days. What's wrong?"

He lent back against the hood and folded his arms, staring across the yard like he was unable to look me in the eyes. "Cass, I'm gonna ask you this straight out and I want you to tell me the truth. That night Keith came onto you, are you sure things didn't go beyond what you told me?"

So, Sarah's words had got to him, just as I suspected.

"I thought we were past all of this."

"Just answer me."

"No! I told you everything that happened! Don't listen to Sarah Ace. She tried to wind me up with the exact same thing!"

"How do you know what she said? We're you pokin' your nose around?"

"Yeah, so what? I need to keep an eye on that scheming little bitch. Don't you see what she's doing? She's bringing this shit up again so we'll fight about it. She's trying to get between us. Trying to pull us apart. And every time you listen to her, you're letting her get her way."

"I know that's what she's trying to do, but that's beside the point."

"Well what _is_ the point then? That after all we went through to get over this, you're still not over it? I didn't sleep with him Ace. You're the only one I've been with since I moved here. The only one I've had roaring mad sex with in just about every place imaginable… and you're the only guy I've ever loved. The only guy I'm ever gonna love. I don't want Keith babe. Just you. And I wish you'd just see that."

"Well so far you haven't done a whole lot to prove that to me." He kicked off the hood and opened the driver's door, ignoring me when I tried to hold him back. I was determined to keep talking it through, desperate to fix things. But words were never gonna be enough.

After he peeled out along the highway road I stormed back into the house in frustration. _Fucking Sarah. This is all her doing!_ I liked to think Sarah was completely to blame, but deep down I knew that wasn't entirely true. She'd dug it up again, sure… but only from where Ace had kept it buried down deep. It wasn't just the night Keith kissed me that was weighing on Ace's mind. I'd lusted over Keith at Irby's. Whenever Ace tried to touch me in front of him, I pulled away. What's that gonna say to a guy? Is that gonna make them feel like they're all you want, all you need? Of course not. It'll only seed doubt. And words alone were never gonna uproot what I'd planted.

A few hours after Ace left I was woken from a nap by a deafening rumble that had turned off the highway into our driveway, crunching the gravel as it rolled down close to the house. I'd only heard an engine that loud and powerful once before – when I was sitting on the back of it, riding out into the countryside only a week earlier.

Eyeball kept telling me that Keith wouldn't give up until he got what he wanted, and so it was reasonable for me to assume that that was why he was back again, even after I'd clearly told him to stop coming around. I'd been inches away from giving into him when we saw each other last and so I understood why he'd want to have another crack. But his persistence wasn't doing me any favors. He couldn't have picked a more inconvenient time to show up. If Ace arrived back and saw us alone it wouldn't help things at all. I decided that the best thing for me to do would be to go out there, let him down gently, and quickly send him on his way.

I stepped out onto the deck as he killed the rowdy engine, leaving only quiet countryside sounds surrounding us.

"Keith," I said softly. "I told you we can't see each other anymore. You shouldn't be here."

But this wasn't the easy-going, laid-back Keith I was used to. He climbed off his bike, swinging his leg over in haste, and came to me clenching his fists and gritting his teeth like he was ready to spit tacks. Something was most definitely wrong. "I'm not here for you Cass," his husky voice said rather harshly. "I'm here for your boyfriend. Where is he?"

"Oh… he's erm… out." The sudden cold shoulder caught me off guard and I blushed in embarrassment for the assumptions I'd made.

"Where?" he demanded.

"He'll be back later." Of course, he was still at Markus's place finishing off the cars we'd brought in from three nights prior.

"No, you tell me where he is, right now." At this point I was feeling a little hurt and uneasy about his insistence. I hadn't done anything wrong and I didn't feel like I deserved to be spoken to like that. With his tough guy appearance complete with arms full of tats he can look pretty mean when he gets all aggressive.

"I don't know where. But he shouldn't be long."

"Bullshit!" He paced back and forth in frustration, his motorbike boots crunching the gravel with each step, his face growing so red with fury that I was worried he might pop a blood vessel. "Fuck! I'm gonna fuckin' kill him!"

"Keith! What's happened? Tell me what's going on!"

His whole body was tense and rigid as he continued to pace, briefly glancing at me every now and then, his eyes glazed with bitterness.

"Just tell me. Please?"

"Alright," he finally said, stepping up onto the deck next to me. "I came home from California this afternoon to find out that my place has been ripped off. My TV, sound system, my little practice amp, couple of old guitars, a few records…" He then bent down closer to me with an intense seriousness in those bitter eyes. "I had a fuckin' thousand bucks worth of coke left and two thousand dollars cash, which was supposed to be for you. And he's fuckin' taken 'em."

"What? When?"

"I dunno! I was down in fuckin' California for the week, wasn't I? Hey…" he pointed at me like he'd just come to some sort of realization. "Fuck! I fucking told you, that's how he knew!"

"What? Slow down, I'm not following…"

"I told you I was gonna be away for the week. Did you mention that to him at all?"

"Well, I don't think I did… oh shit…"

"Fuck, thanks a fucking lot."

"Hey, don't blame this on me! You don't even know it was Ace! It could've been anyone!"

"Oh, I know it was him. He may be able to outsmart the cops but he ain't gettin' one over on me." And then without warning, he turned and stormed right through the front door of the house, into the kitchen.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? You can't just walk in there!"

"I just did, didn't I?" He scanned the kitchen looking for the most ideal place to hide drugs or money, and I grabbed his arm and tried to haul him back out. Of course, that was about as effective as trying to drag a brick wall out the door.

"Keith! Get out! You can wait 'til Ace is back and take this up with him."

"Just back off babe." After he easily shook his arm free from my clutches, I accepted that there wasn't a lot I could do to stop him. He started on the cupboards first, ripping each open and rummaging through them thoroughly before going through the draws. He then stopped halfway through, as if deciding that the kitchen wasn't his best bet after all, and headed through the house, straight towards the bedrooms. He easily picked out Ace's room (the messy one) and pulled open the top draws of the huge dresser that stood at the end wall.

"This is bullshit! You have no right to do this!" I screamed at him. But he ignored me. He pulled out every draw in turn, rummaging through the neatly folded clothes, messing up my tidy work. I protested even more when he opened the bottom draw because that was the one I'd claimed for myself. He pushed aside all my clothes, including my silk lingerie and lacy panties, to search the back while I looked on, my face beet red. "There, are you satisfied?" I asked when he'd finished.

"Not done yet." He searched that room top to bottom, making sure he got every nook and cranny. The wardrobe, shelves, under the bed and between the mattresses, but it was when he searched the bedside dresser that he struck gold. He lifted the small bag out, which Ace and I had been sharing for the past few days, and stuffed it in the front pocket of his Levi's. There wasn't much left, but it was a small victory for him.

"Hey! Give that back!" I tried to fish it back out of his pocket but he easily fended me off.

"This is mine and I'm taking it."

"You don't know that!"

"Don't tell me you still don't think it was him. Jesus Cass, wake up! Why do you think I asked you if he's pulled you into some kinda crime ring? Cos burglary's his main game! In elementary school he used to steal from corner stores and sell to school kids. Sweets, baseball cards, cigarettes, anything he could get his hands on. In high school it progressed to shit like alcohol, records…"

"Records?"

"And then, after high school, it began to get serious. A lot more serious. He found proper fences to sell to. Anything that wasn't nailed down, he'd swipe and sell off. But he was always clever about it right from the start. He'd only ever sell to a trusted few and then they'd go on to sell to the general population."

"Right… so don't tell me. You used to be one of those trusted few."

"How else would I know all this?"

I felt like the answers I'd been searching for had just come crashing right through the wall of the black box, breaking it open, revealing all for me to see. I finally understood why the cops were keeping a close eye on him – because he'd been into more than just boosting cars. He'd done far more than just that… and Aunt Evvie had been a victim.

The cops were highly suspicious that Ace was responsible for the crimes but they never caught him in the act, nor did he leave any evidence, and so they never had any proof to convict him. But they were still hopeful that the day would eventually come. In the meantime, all they could do was sit and watch. The Sheriff had jumped when he heard Ace's name mentioned next to a stolen car. He even took the case on himself just to be sure the job was done right. If there was any chance to nail Ace's ass, he wasn't gonna miss it.

All of this suspicion from the Sheriff, the cops and even the townspeople, had become too much for Ace. He was too well known in the area to risk doing too much himself anymore, and so he became reliant on others to do the jobs for him. He started out with bringing his two most trusted on the scene – Eyeball and Vince – but even they had a considerable amount of heat on them, just by being his friends. And so, when he found a girl who was capable of the job, who nobody in their right mind would ever suspect, he began working on her. And that girl was me.

I stared at Keith with my mouth hanging open as my brain went into overdrive, making all the connections.

"Don't act so surprised Cass. You of all people should know what he's capable of."

"You still can't accuse him of ripping off your place without any hard proof."

"Well then let's keep lookin' shall we?" Keith walked out of the room to search further abroad. He was determined to find that money, but who could blame him? He was wasting his time though. If Ace had three grand worth of shit in the house he wouldn't leave it lying around to be found so easily. He'd hide it in the hole in the floor in the corner of his room. I wanted to look in there to see for myself, but there was no way I'd risk leading Keith to it.

I followed him through the house as he searched both spare bedrooms, the bathroom, and he even looked in the toilet cistern, but of course nothing turned up. He finally moved into the living room and stood with his hands on his hips in thought, gazing around as he decided on where to search next.

"Look, I've given you a chance to check it out and there's nothing here. So can you please leave now?" I asked, attempting to rush him out. Because now it wasn't only money and drugs I was worried about him finding. Ace had a whole stack of new records, and although I didn't know for sure that he'd acquired them from Keith's, I was still nervous about him finding them.

But again, he didn't listen. He searched each sofa in turn, ripping the cushions off before lifting the ends up off the floor to check underneath – still nothing. And then, he went to the turntable.

_Fuck…_

He opened the cupboard below it, pulled out a handful of records and began shuffling through them. "Well, would you look at that? Ace you idiot. Why the fuck would you keep these?"

"Hey, you can't say that! So what if he owns the same records as you? Do you think you're the only one who owns that version of Blue Suede Shoes?"

He stopped shuffling when he came to the '_The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You'_ single on 45, and tucked his hand deep into the slip. "No," he said with a bitter grin, "but I bet I'm the only one who's got a girlfriend named Emma." He pulled out a small pink piece of paper and handed it to me.

_To Keith, Love Emma,_ it said plain as day. There was the proof, in my very own hands, that Ace had in fact gone to Keith's place when he was out of town and swiped anything of any value. But suddenly that slipped down the ladder of importance as the new information caught my ear.

"_Got_ a girlfriend? As in, present tense?"

"Yeah," he shrugged. "She bought me that record last week. It's brand new."

"So, you mean, you've had a girlfriend this whole time?"

"Few weeks, nothin' serious."

"A few weeks! So you were with someone else when you were making all those suggestive hints at me? When you were trying to get me to leave Ace? Even when you told me you… you fucking asshole!"

Just then, the sound of Ace's wheels agitating the gravel could be heard outside. We both turned our heads in unison towards it – Keith with a low growl, and me with a gasp. I didn't need to be psychic to know that this was about to get ugly.

Keith rushed for the door with clenched fists and me hot on his tail. We both ran out onto the deck to see Ace closing his driver's door, staring curiously at the motorbike, probably wondering who it belonged to. He was about to get his answer. He barely had time to comprehend what was going on when Keith jumped off the deck and lunged at him with a wide-sweeping right-hook, landing it with a dead-on smack to his jaw. Ace quickly recovered from the blow and threw a sharp right hook at Keith's nose which he luckily blocked. The two brawled huddled in close and became a blur of flying fists and diving elbows with a thick cloud of gravel dust swirling at their feet.

"Guys! Cut it out!" I yelled from the sidelines. But there was no place for the voice of a girl amongst the testosterone, sweat and ego of two alpha males going at it like a rumble was long overdue. For them, this was a showdown. A fight for supremacy and superiority. This fight wouldn't be over until one of them succeeded in bringing the other to his knees.

Both were aiming to break each other's noses, but Ace's jabs were consistently smacking at Keith's jaw, while Keith's hits were thumping firm on Ace's cheekbone. After a few more failed attempts at socking Ace in the nose, Keith's open hand jabbed straight out at Ace's throat. He got him in a frighteningly tight grip with his thumb on one side of his windpipe and his fingers digging in on the other. Ace seemed to ignore it at first and kept on swinging, but then Keith shoved him backwards into the rear fender of the '49, sending him off-balance and forcing him down into an awkward backbend across the boot of the car. Ace slipped his hand into his back pocket and pulled out his switchblade, but Keith wrestled it off him and threw it a few feet across the gravel.

Keith tightened his grip even harder as he towered over Ace, enjoying his moment of glory. Their faces were a mess of cuts and bruises, with Keith's lip dripping blood onto Ace's bright white T-shirt, and a cut on Ace's eyebrow flowing in a steady stream onto the hood of the car. Ace was in too weak a position to fight back effectively now, but he did his best to fend off the blows to his face that were still coming in thick and fast.

Watching my man struggle was all too much for me to bear. I jumped on Keith's back, locked my forearm around his throat and pulled back as hard as I could, trying to strangle him with all my might. Keith stopped punching and instead tried to battle me off him whilst keeping Ace pinned down. The type of strength that anger can give you is amazing.

"Let him up Keith or I swear I'll bite your fucking ear off!" I growled from behind, clinging to him tight as he tried to shake me off.

"I got a better idea," he strained through his throat, savagely clenched tight by my arm. He stopped trying to battle me and reached into his back pocket for his own switchblade. He flicked it out and held it right up against Ace's throat. I saw his eyes bulge as he instantly knew he was in trouble. "Now get off me Cass. I shouldn't need to ask twice."

I immediately dropped to the ground and took two steps back. "OK, I'm off. Ditch the blade."

But Keith still held him firm. Ace's eyes rolled back into his head a little as he began to fade out of consciousness.

"Fuck Keith! Let him go! We can work something out, OK?"

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"I'll pay it back. I'll give you the money."

"I dunno. Stabbing this guy in the throat might be worth losing three grand for."

"Don't joke about this. You know you don't wanna do that. You've got far too much going for you!"

Keith considered my offer for a few seconds while digging his thumb and forefinger in tighter around Ace's windpipe a bit more for good measure. "You got it today?"

"Yeah, I got it at my place."

"How much?"

"The whole three grand. Maybe even a bit more. I've been saving it to buy a car." He paused for a little longer, obviously enjoying having Ace at his mercy. "Come on Keith! Let him go!"

Keith heaved a sigh before shoving Ace back into the hood and releasing him. Ace sucked in a wheezy first breath as he rolled off the hood and stood bent-double against the car, gasping to fill his lungs with air. I ran to him and threw my arm around his waist in support, but he ignored me and reached for his switchblade which lay in the gravel. He flicked it out at his side and stared at Keith with an acute viciousness in his eyes like I'd never seen before. "You just crossed the line. Again."

"What were you expecting? You would've done the same thing if I'd come round here and cleaned _you_ out."

"What are you talking about?" Ace questioned like he really had no idea.

"Don't try to bullshit me. I got fuckin' proof, right here." He pulled the crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and held it up for Ace to read. "This was in the sleeve of one of those records you stole. And I thought you were smart."

Ace let out a bitter laugh in between his panting breaths. "So what are you gonna do about it? Report me to the cops? Tell them I stole your fucking cocaine?"

"The coke and money ain't all you stole. I _can_ go to the cops with this."

"Guys, please! That's enough! No more fighting." I said firmly.

"Cass, you stay out of this."

"No way. This involves me just as much as it does you. This is my fault and now I've gotta put things right."

"It's not your fault, it's his fault. And you ain't givin' him that money. He can go to fuckin' hell."

"It _is_ my fault. Because if I'd just stuck by you that night like I should've, if I hadn't been so protective of Keith's feelings, then none of this would've happened. So I'm gonna pay him that money, he's gonna leave us alone, and we're gonna move on."

"No. If you pay him then he gets away scot-free."

"If I don't pay him then he's gonna dob you in for burglary. And then what'll happen after that? You'll most likely try to do him for selling coke. Then he'll look for some other way to get revenge back on you, so on and so forth until you're either both permanent residents at Shawshank or both dead. Things can't carry on like this Ace."

They both exchanged harsh stares but I felt that the tension between them had eased. Maybe I was finally getting through their stubborn skulls.

I stepped close to Ace and took his hand in mine, noting that his knuckles weren't even bruised after all their hard labor. "I'm sorry, I've acted stupid a few times over the past weeks. I just hope that one day we'll be able to get past this because… you mean the world to me. And _everyone_ knows that. Even him."

I glanced at Keith who was now leaning against his bike in a huff, avoiding eye contact with either of us by staring off into the trees.

"But if _you_ need a little more convincing…" I stood up on my tiptoes to sling my arms around his neck and put on a playful smile, hoping to charm him into losing the grump.

"Then what? I'm all ears."

Of course, there was only one fitting answer. I kissed him, avidly, with hunger, with all the pent up desire I'd been unable to spend on him over the few days prior. I heard Keith say something, but it sounded like a faint mumble to me.

"You know Ace… we've failed twice on the hood of this car. Maybe we'd have more luck on the boot." I wasn't expecting too much from him since he'd just been in a fight, and so I was both surprised and delighted when he grabbed me by the hips and lifted me up onto the car. I had him sold. He mauled me like a beast bursting out of the cage after being locked in there for days without food.

"I'll be waiting for that money," Keith said again. "And if I don't get it by… blah blah blah." Neither of us heard the rest. We were in our own little world by then, just the two of us. I was laying back on the boot with my legs wrapped around his waist while he leant over top, sucking the life out of my neck and hastily unhooking my bra.

Keith's motorbike sounded like a distant hum as he fired it up and roared up the gravel drive. He may have won the fight, but Ace got the final word. My adoration for him was one shot of revenge that Keith could never answer back.

* * *

**A/N: Gah... I'm gonna be honest, I had a rough couple of weeks in the middle of working on this. As I said end of last chapter, I like making the story a little bit tricky - it's a challenge. But I don't know if I go too far sometimes and it all just becomes confusing. It's not confusing to me, I know exactly where I am in the story, but how do I know that everyone else can follow it? Especially with some long periods between chapters? That kinda thing can really get your confidence down, motivation drops and then you just stop.**

**Anyway, that's the end of that segment of the story. There was a LOT of build up to it in the previous chapters and I hope I answered all the questions. If there's anything you didn't get, or felt I wasn't clear on, please let me know so I can go back and fix it or add more :) All comments and reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading, hope it's still enjoyable xx**

* * *

**Part 4 - I had to rewrite this part because the original just wasn't singing the way it should've. Sarah causing them to fight was my original idea since chapter six but for some reason I decided not to do it in the first version - why, I'll never know... ****The way it is now fits in much better with the rest of the story for a few different reasons, and so i'm now a happy chappy :)**


	32. Chapter 12: Refining Trust

**Refining Trust**

* * *

Three grand. Three fucking grand. It was all dirty cash but that didn't make the idea of handing it over any easier to bare. I'd still worked for it, risked my ass for it. I'd still earned it. Giving it away seemed so unfair and yet the only way to settle things between them, because Ace would never agree to pay Keith back. As far as he was concerned he'd fucked him over fair and square. He didn't care if Keith lashed back and the fighting continued; it was no big deal to him. But it was a big deal to me. Apart from feeling responsible, I was being treated like a little piggy in the middle. Back and forth they'd go, tossing the blame to each other, over my head and out of my reach. Well Piggy now saw an opportunity to grab that ball and bring their games to an end.

The way I saw it, if I paid Keith most of what was stolen from him then he'd have nothing else to complain about. He'd have his share and Ace would have his too. I'd be the one missing out but I could live with that if it meant putting their constant feuding to rest, once and for all.

There was just one problem with that plan… Ace was strictly against it.

"You're not fucking going, end of story."

"Ace, this has to happen. It's the only way…"

"Only way for what? To stop him going to cops? He ain't gonna call the cops! He can't prove anything and he'll be too shit scared about what I'd dob _him_ in for. I got just as much dirt on him as he does on me."

"It's not just about the cops. It's about you and him squabbling and fighting all the time. I'm in the middle here and I'm sick and tired of it! If I pay him back that money he'll be happy, you'll be happy, I'll be broke… but happy. And if you don't take me around there right now, then… I'm going alone. Fuck it."

"No you're fuckin' not."

"Then you'd better take me, hadn't you?"

Ace's eyes turned stone cold, piercing through to my core. I hate arguing with him and I felt guilty for being the one causing the conflict, but I was so sure I was doing the right thing. I felt I had to stand my ground. Without another word to me, Ace grabbed his keys and stormed out to the car with me trailing behind. Now that I'd got my way I felt doubly terrible – but still, this had to happen.

First we drove to my place to pick up the cash and then made the trip to Keith's. It was only a five minute drive and yet it seemed like the longest ride of my life. Ace burnt up Keith's driveway, kicking up loose gravel under our wheels, and then he slammed on the handbrake, sliding us to a snaky stop. If that racket didn't give Keith the heads up that we'd arrived then Ace slamming his door behind him sure would've. He led the way along the path which could only just be seen in the late dusk lighting, and then thumped hard on the door.

"Hurry up, I ain't got all fuckin' night," he grumbled.

Keith pulled the door open and stepped back for us to enter. I stepped in first with Ace following behind me. Boy, Ace sure did 'clean him out'. The only things left in the lounge were the suede sofas, the bear hide rug and the giant stag head that hung above the open fireplace.

Keith was maintaining his staunch attitude from earlier, although he seemed worn from the fight. Technically he'd won it but he came off looking the worst. Ace had his share of bruises and a cut above his eyebrow, but his battle wounds were nothing like Keith's. Keith had the same patchy bruising as Ace plus a rough cut to his lip, but his cheekbone, which had caught the most attention from Ace's knuckles, had darkened into an award winning shiner.

I felt extremely uneasy standing between them. The resentment in the air was so thick you could choke on it. I just wanted to get this done and get out of there.

"You got it all?" Keith nodded at my precious box cradled in my arms.

"Uh-huh…" I nodded back.

After all I'd been through with Keith, and after him swearing to look out for me no matter what, I'd had a glimmer of hope that he'd give me a reprieve. But he didn't go soft on me at all. As soon as I lifted the lid to give him a peek of the green, the shoebox was snatched out of my hands before I even got a chance to kiss it goodbye. He didn't even say thank you. He just stared at me like I was the one who'd stolen it and owed it to him.

I waited for a few seconds, expecting him to say something, but he didn't. In the end it was Ace who broke the silence.

"We done? Can we get the fuck outta here now?"

I averted my eyes down to the floor, away from Keith's heartless stare, and nodded.

As we travelled back to Ace's, I felt empty without my cash. I felt like I'd just given away a beloved pet. What's worse, I didn't even know if it _had_ 'fixed' things as I intended. Things certainly didn't feel fixed. I knew I should've said something in there, but I just froze. I should've laid out my terms to Keith and told him the exact reasons why I was paying him, just like I'd explained to Ace. Oh well… too late now. _Good one Cass… round well played._

I dared to glance at Ace whose eyebrows hung low in resentment. He reached to the glove box in front of me, opened it, grabbed his cigarettes and then slammed it shut so hard I flinched.

"Ace, please don't make this harder for me than it needs to be…"

"You can be a fucking stupid bitch sometimes Cass," he said, pulling one out of the box with his lips.

I was quite taken aback by his language towards me, but I let it slide. "What are _you_ getting so upset about? It was _my_ money."

"Do you know how much effort I put into that job? Stealing the truck, breaking in, loading it up, hiding it, arranging things with the fence, negotiating; it's a fucking lot of work."

"But you were paid well, weren't you? What are you complaining about?"

"I didn't do it for the fucking money, did I?"

I turned cold at the brutal realization. Of course he didn't do it for the money. I knew it, and yet I'd completely overlooked that entire aspect during my all-important, three-thousand dollar worth decision-making process. _Fuck…_ He hadn't done it for the money; that was his revenge on Keith for trying to pull me away from him. And now I'd reversed the damage by repaying it. Ace's efforts and the risks he'd taken had now all been for nothing. That's not disobedience, that's outright defiance.

* * *

**2**

The whole previous week hadn't been good for us, but that night was the worst. Everything Ace touched was banged, slammed or even hurled across the room. I understood that I'd defied him and I felt terrible about it, but I felt that smashing a new bottle of milk all over the kitchen wall was a little bit over the top.

Still, I didn't see things at the depth that he did.

It didn't take long for me to retreat outside to get away from him. I climbed into the back seat of the '49 and spent a couple of hours in there stargazing and reflecting on what I'd done. When I got cold I went inside with the intention of grabbing a blanket and going back out, but he seemed to have settled down by then. He was still pissed off at me though; that was easy to tell. As well as giving me the silent treatment, he'd brought out a stack of men's magazines (yeah, you know the kind), dumped them on the coffee table in the lounge and was quietly flicking through each one with a keen eye. He knows how much it bugs me every time he brings home a new one of those, and so having a pile in front of him was sure to get me riled. It did, but I tried to ignore it as best I could by planting my nose in a copy of Time magazine at the kitchen table.

We sat like that in total silence for an hour, with the exception of a few wolf-whistles and the quiet flicking of pages from Ace in the lounge. The house had been silent for so long that when the phone rang from his bedroom it made us both jump simultaneously like an electric current had been run through the floors. He rushed into the room and all I heard was a "Yup," before the door swung closed behind him. That irked me even more than his magazines. We were supposed to be working on becoming a tight unit and yet he still insisted on keeping things from me.

Ace had been keeping a lot of secrets even before the whole ordeal with me paying off Keith. He hadn't told me what he'd done to Keith, or that he was the culprit of a large percentage of the crime in the vicinity, or that Sheriff Bannerman's number one aim in life was to cane his ass. Instead of hearing those things from him, I'd caught little hints from Keith and the town busybody, and worked the rest out for myself.

The way I saw it, I _needed_ to at least be aware of everything that was going on so I could make informed decisions and be ready to handle anything. I didn't want to deal with any more nasty surprises.

And I still knew nothing about these mysterious phone calls.

It seemed to take forever and the longer he stayed in there the more I wound myself up about it. Part of me wanted to sneak into the hall and squash my ear to the door but my butt stayed firmly glued to the seat. It definitely wouldn't help matters if he caught me eavesdropping.

The bedroom door finally opened and he wandered out into the kitchen. He could clearly see the resentment in my expression but shrugged it off and arrogantly tousled my hair as he strolled past me towards the fridge. Something inside told me to drop it for now, but something greater told me to get it out. The faster the air could be cleared the better.

"Who was that?" I asked in a soft, non-confrontational tone. As much as I wanted to scream my feelings out to him, taking a diplomatic approach would be more likely to get me answers.

"Just a guy." He pulled a can from the fridge and cracked it open, guzzling back a few good mouthfuls.

"You've been keeping a lot from me lately and I just wanna know what's going on."

Ace shrugged and took another swig like he didn't give a shit.

"Can you please talk to me? We're supposed to be tight, remember?"

His eyebrows lowered into a sardonic frown. "How are we supposed to be tight when you still don't fucking listen to me? You never give a fuck what I say; you'd rather handle things your own way."

"I was just doing what I thought was right at the time…"

"Exactly. What _you_ thought was right. I had the perfect setup and then you interfered and ruined it all."

"I know… I'm sorry about that. But if you'd only told me what was going on beforehand then things might've worked out differently."

"OK, so what would've happened if I _had_ told you about it? What would you've done if I told you I was gonna go 'round there, take anything of any value, stick it in a truck and sell it all off to the highest bidder? Huh? You tell me."

"Well, I would've… um…"

"You would've done everything you could've to stop me. Tried to talk me out of it, stole the truck when we were loading shit into it… Anything you coulda done, you woulda done. Ain't that right?"

"No! Maybe… Yeah." In fact that's exactly what I would've done.

"This shit goes beyond you wasting three grand on Keith. It even goes beyond you fucking up what I'd spent days planning. It's the principal of the thing - this is about you constantly getting in my way. I'd rather tell you nothing Cass because it makes things a fuck load easier to get done."

"OK… I guess I can see your point…"

"I've already told you to stop trying to rip the reins outta my hands and let me handle things."

"Don't argue… just agree," I recalled.

"But you still can't fucking do it! All this bullshit you spit out, telling me you trust me – if you trust me then why do you keep doing this shit?"

"I don't know…"

"And here's another thing - Remember the night you stole Patrick's Chrysler? Remember that conversation on the way home from Sukey's?"

"Yeah…"

"I told you why that car needed to be taken, how I couldn't do it myself, and all you could do was fucking accuse me of using you as a scapegoat!"

"Well I'm sorry! That's just how it looked!"

"Why would you think I'd do that to you? Especially right after you promised to trust me and after we agreed that we've gotta stick together! Where's the tightness in that Cass? Where the fuckin' mutual trust in that?"

Suddenly everything made sense. I blushed in disgrace and hung my head like I'd just learnt the true meaning of the word _shame_. "I'm… sorry…"

"Sorry don't cut it. You gotta stop arguing with me, back the fuck off and start doing things my way. I've been doing this shit for a long time and I don't need you directing things and trying to tell me what to do." And with that, he chugged down the rest of his beer, threw the empty can into the trash and walked out the front door, slamming it behind him. I stayed fixed to my chair as the '49 started then roared up the driveway, mercilessly crushing the gravel under its wheels. The high pitched scream of rubber burning against the highway road soon faded, leaving me alone in silence.

The words on my magazine began to blur more and more until a large tear fell from each eye and landed as two big wet splats on the page. I'd always thought I trusted him – his judgment, his instincts and his experience – but after hearing his views I began to question myself on whether that was really true. It was my own instincts that were the problem. They kept diving out in front, trying to shield me and the ones I loved from whatever trouble lurked on the horizon. That was understandable though, given my history. Growing up I was always at the helm in our household. I made the decisions, I organized, I controlled. Along with that, I protected. But now, somehow, I had to learn to restrain those instincts. To truly trust him I had to leave myself open and vulnerable to his ideas. It wouldn't be easy for me, but it had to be done if this relationship was ever gonna work.

* * *

**3**

It was 2:30am when he finally arrived home. I lay in bed unable to sleep as I heard the car parking up, followed by the front door whining to a close. His footsteps paced through the house up to the bedroom doorway, but I was lying on my side facing the wall so I couldn't see him. I half expected him to wander off into the spare room to sleep, but instead the footsteps slowly paced closer, right up to the edge of the bed. I heard the sounds of clothes being shed, his heavy boots being slipped off and kicked across the room, and then his jeans sliding down his legs before his belt buckle hit the floor. The mattress sunk in behind me as he rolled in and then… stillness. He smelt like a brewery, but it was no surprise that he would've gone out drinking.

I waited for a while to see if he'd say or do anything, but he lay in silence. I badly wanted to roll over and snuggle up to him, to feel him close to me, but feared he'd still be angry and shove me off. Knowing he was right there and not being able to touch him was agonizing. I had to do something; I couldn't just lie there all night in misery. So I rolled over.

The moon shone directly through the thin blue curtains above our heads, bathing his face and chest in blue light. He lay staring up at the ceiling with his elbows out and head rested back on his hands, paying no attention to me.

"I know you said sorry doesn't cut it… but I am sorry, and I hope that's at least a start."

He didn't reply, didn't look at me and didn't move. I may as well have said nothing.

"You're right; I need to learn how to back off. You're trying to get things done and I'm just getting in your way. I think I'm helping, but I'm not… I'm hindering you." I wanted to explain the reasons behind my understanding but feared they may come across as excuses.

He still didn't reply, didn't look at me and didn't move. So I disappointedly gave up and rolled over again to face the wall.

The mattress then sunk as he rolled in towards me. His hand rested on my hip as he shuffled close, pressing his chest against my back. I felt his breath brush my ear making me sigh softly in awe. "So you get where I'm coming from?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do," I nodded. "It's not gonna be easy for me though – I'll admit that to you now. But I know that I have to or…" I crooked my neck to look up at him hovering over me, "we're never gonna work. Not us, or me being involved in anything you do. And I want this to work. I've never wanted anything so badly in my life."

"I know that's what you want. But my patience is wearing thin. You don't know how close I came to ending it all tonight."

"So you mean you were gonna… break up with me?"

"In the heat of the moment, I might've." A shockwave of fear started at my belly and moved through me, reaching every nerve ending throughout my body. I felt frightened like I'd just had a brush with death. His hand then left my hip and slid all the way up my body to caress the side of my neck, his touch comforting me a little. "That's why I got outta there… to stop myself from making the biggest mistake of my life."

My eyebrows raised an inch. Of all the unexpected things that have fallen from Ace Merrill's mouth, that sugary sweet-talk took the cake. I stroked his stubbly chin with my finger, gazing at him in admiration. "I love you… but sometimes I feel like I don't deserve you." It was understandable that his patience was wearing thin, and how he kept finding more of it to forgive me with, I'll never know.

"Don't worry, you'll prove yourself to me one day," he grinned, unable to resist being a smartass. He quickly redeemed himself though, by leaning down to slip his sentimental sweet-talking tongue into my mouth.

* * *

The next day I woke to the smell of sausages wafting in from the kitchen which was a good sign he was still in a positive mood. I slid my naked body out of bed and threw on one of his T-shirts, which barely covered my bum, before padding out to see him.

"Hi," I said quietly, leaning on the edge of the wall that separated the kitchen from the lounge.

"Hungry?" he asked, briefly glancing up from the sausages and eggs that were sizzling in the pan. Breakfast was never Cheerios or Wheaties in this household. It was always a wholesome serving of good solid man food – bacon, eggs, sausages, steak, that kinda thing. Ace's stomach wouldn't be satisfied on anything less.

The kitchen was a pigsty which wasn't unusual for when he cooked. It looked like he'd thrown a cherry bomb in the pan and half the contents had exploded in every direction around him. Oil was splattered all over the stove, up the wall, on the benches at either side, and even on the floor. I always try to tell him that he doesn't need to have the pan at the temperature of the sun for the food to cook but he never listens to me… probably because he knows I'll be the one cleaning it up. But that day I barely cared about that and saw the funny side of it instead.

"What are you giggling at?" he asked as I ran the cherry bomb scenario though my head.

"Nothing," I grinned lightly before crossing the kitchen to make some coffee.

As we settled down for breakfast Ace chatted away to me like his old self who I'd been missing terribly. He'd had a lot boiling in the pressure cooker and venting it out all over me was just the therapy he needed. The dark, dank atmosphere that had been lingering around us for the past week had finally been lifted, leaving a fresh new aura in the air. This was the start of a new day and with it came a new chance to get it right.

Knowing he didn't go to Markus's on Sundays, my mind drifted over ways we could spend the day. I wanted to do something different and exciting to _really_ put the past week behind us.

"I was thinking we should go somewhere today," I said, pushing my finished plate aside. "Like, Castle Lake? I've heard it's really nice there, but I've never been. We could maybe… take a blanket, find a secluded spot…"

"Nah, sorry babe, I gotta drive outta town today. Gonna meet someone."

I felt the color drain from my face. The questions _who, when, where,_ _why _came in the midst of my disappointment, but I didn't ask. "Oh… sure. Sorry…" Seeing the disappointment on my face, he waved me over from across the table. I shuffled around there with a slightly protruding bottom lip and slumped my bare butt across his lap. "Are you sure you have to go?"

"Yeah, I can't break this." The palm of his hand rubbed circles around my left knee and then slowly, mischievously, began to journey northwards. I watched with heavy anticipation as his fingertips sunk between my inner thighs and continued moving teasingly slow, closer towards me. "But, if all goes well… then good things are coming." I gasped softly when his fingers reached the end of the line. I had a feeling he'd known all along. "Do you know what happens to little girls who don't wear panties?"

"Ummm…" I playfully rolled my eyes at the ceiling. "They get punished?"

He hinted for me to face him so I threw a foot over his lap to straddle his legs. His large warm hands started at my knees, skimmed up my thighs all the way around to caress my ass and then back again, causing a tingle to run up my spine. "The opposite. They get special treats."

"Ooh… so does that mean you have a special treat for me?"

"Yup."

"And is it… hidden somewhere and I have to find it?"

"You got it."

"Hmmm… I wonder where it could be," I said, undoing his jeans. "Ooh, I think I found something."

Twenty minutes later I groaned with bliss underneath him as he feverishly dished up a breakfast desert. I had pictured us going out to the lake, finding a secluded cavern of greenery, laying out a blanket and spending the rest of the day lazily looking out over the fresh water shimmering in the sunlight. But instead I found myself at home, wedged in tight between him and the kitchen table. Not exactly the luxury I'd wished for but I still treasured every second of his attention.

Well-fed and satisfied, Ace grabbed his keys off the table and told me he'd see me later that night. I walked him to the car and watched as he threw in his box of cigarettes and a six pack to see him through his journey. As he drove up the driveway and peeled out along the highway out of my sight, I remembered what he'd told me and began to ponder. _"Good things are coming."_

* * *

**4**

All day I pondered. Did it have anything to do with the cars? Were the people he sold them to asking for even more from us? Did Ace have some _new_ business scheme on the go?

He didn't exactly shower me with hints when he got home. When I asked how his trip went he just shrugged, his poker face blank and giving nothing away. That could mean one of two things. His hopes either went gurgling down the plughole or he just wanted me to think that so I'd stop asking questions…

There was no time to think about that now anyway. It was time to focus on going out on the prowl for some nice new shiny wheels. It was late Sunday night and Markus would be expecting me soon. I began mentally preparing myself for my routine run as I pulled up my black jeans and zipped up my jacket. _Don't think about it, just do it. Drop the nerves and concentrate. There's no room for panic, no room for emotion. One you're done, you can sit down and relax with a JD's or a nice couple of lines. _These were all things I used to tell myself to psych me up before a run. Suppressing the guilt was something I'd become good at rather quickly, but suppressing the nerves was something I still needed to work on.

"You ready to hit the road?" Ace asked as he hung in the bedroom doorway, eyeing me over with his approval.

"Uh-huh." The ringing of the phone from on top of the dresser interrupted us and I immediately thought to make myself scarce. "Do you want me to go?"

He put that thought on standby as he answered, holding the receiver to his ear. "Yup. Who? You're sure it's him?" he asked with a noticeable twinge of excitement in his voice. "How long's he been there for? OK, good work Jack. Free beer for you tonight." He hung up and then immediately dialed another number with me growing more and more curious. "It's me. Not comin' up tonight. Don't worry; got it covered."

"Is this something I'm allowed to know about?" I asked as he hung up.

"Been a change of plans. You're not going with Markus tonight, you're comin' with me."

"OK…"

"Got your picks?"

"Yup…"

"Good girl, we'll take the truck."

We hit the road in the '32 Ford with Ace's foot planted to the floor the whole way towards town. Judging by that and the harsh punishment he gave the toothpick wedged between his teeth, he was anxious to get to wherever it was we were headed. As we neared Castle Rock he suddenly took a left and drove through the quiet outlying residential streets as if avoiding the town center. This was good; if he was taking me out on a typical job then town was definitely somewhere I wanted to avoid. However, after parking the truck in a quiet side street we continued on foot back in _towards_ town. I began to feel a little nervous about that but then reminded myself that as long as Ace had me under his wing, everything would be okay. I slipped my arm around his waist and squeezed him as if feeling him there would help ease the tension.

"You alright?" he asked, cloaking his arm around my shoulder.

"Yeah, I always get nervous before hand, but once I'm on the job I'm fine. I'm weird like that."

"That's adrenaline. And something tells me you're gonna be running high on it tonight…"

I stared at him both alarmed and curious. I opened my mouth to ask questions but then shut it again. _No questions, just trust._

We crossed to the opposite side of the road and the bright lights of town came into view in the distance. For a Sunday night it was bustling with activity. Ace told me it was Labor Day tomorrow and they'd opened up the dance hall for a Sunday night dance. The hall is used for much more than dances though. It's a basketball court, has a small stage mostly for school plays and it's also used by the local Boy Scouts. But that night it was inundated with high school kids from Castle Rock and neighboring towns. We couldn't see the hall itself from three blocks away but the cars lined up outside pin-pointed it exactly. It was like someone had stuck a giant magnet out front, drawing in every car from every direction.

"Better get off this street." Ace suddenly veered us into a dark alleyway between two shops. We walked through and came out the other end into a wide backstreet. This dusty strip would usually serve as a loading area for trucks and other service vehicles, but tonight it would make a good passage to conceal us while we got up close.

We moved quickly and quietly through the backstreet for three whole blocks, cautiously crossing two roads on the way. The closer we got, the louder the sounds of saxophones, drums and double bass could be heard from the live Rock 'n Roll band that was playing in the hall. When we reached the center of the final block he signaled for me to stay put while he scouted out ahead. He took a few steps forward and then slipped around the corner into an alleyway that ran between the buildings. After a couple of minutes he reappeared and continued on. He walked a few more feet ahead to a much wider alley, peered around the corner and then waved me forward.

I stopped to stare down the first alley to get a view of what lay out on the street. The dance hall was right there in front of me on the opposite side of the road. I couldn't see much through the narrow gap, just the hall which was back off the road with its small parking lot out front, filled with cars and loitering kids. I scooted across the gap and continued sneaking along to where Ace was waiting for me.

"Have a peek 'round there," he whispered. "See that white '54 Ford?"

I did as he said, cautiously peeking around the corner of the building (which I later found out is the local library) out onto the road. I couldn't tell a '54 Ford from a '52 but I knew a white car when I saw one. "Yep, I see it," I whispered back.

"That's the one I want." My stomach climbed up into my throat. Apart from the fact that it was parked on a busy street near the center of town, it was on our side of the road. That meant the driver's door was on the other side of the car. I'd have to walk into the middle of the street to pick the lock with my back turned on the dance hall.

"Are you serious?"

"Do you think you can handle it?"

I wanted to answer,_ Are you kidding me? I'm shittin' my pants! Why didn't you tell me? I could've brought a spare pair of panties… _But instead I said, "Do _you_ think I can handle it?"

"Wouldn't have brought you if I didn't."

With Ace's belief in mind, I took another peek around the corner to reanalyze the situation. There were some open steel grating fire-escape stairs that ran alongside the library from the sidewalk up to an outside door at the top floor. If I could hide under those to watch for my most opportune moment, and if I picked the passenger's side lock instead of the driver's side… then I might be in with a chance. If my last car was anything to judge by, a 1950 Buick I'd picked up a few days earlier, then I'd be driving away with it within 30 seconds of reaching the door.

"So, you game?" he asked.

"Yeah, I got this," I nodded, my confidence coming right at the crucial moment. After studying the scene like that, the boost seemed somewhat easy… provided I could sneak in there without catching anyone's attention. I took another peek around the corner at the car and an overwhelming urge to prove myself came over me. Suddenly it became a challenge I had to win, and the more I pictured success the keener I became to hurry out there and do it.

"That's my girl," Ace smiled with devilish eyes like he could read the eagerness in my face and liked what he saw. "Now, don't do it straight away. Wait half an hour and then go for it. Not before, OK?" He pulled a small gold watch from his jeans pocket and handed it to me.

_Half an hour? I could get cold feet by then…_

"Sure, that's fine." I didn't need to ask to understand that part of it. He wanted to be in the public eye down at the pub while the crime took place. "So, you're sure the owner's not gonna… sorry. Sure."

"That's OK, babe – you're allowed to ask. You're just not allowed to argue."

"OK… who's car is it?"

"Nope," he laughed, shaking his head.

"That's a question, ain't it?"

"Yeah, one I'm not gonna answer."

"Fine." It was worth a shot.

Ace perched his fists on his hips and licked his lips in thought like he was reconsidering. "OK, you wanna know?"

"Only if you wanna tell me…"

"Alright, so what if I told you that car belongs to one of Jefferson's boys. Kyle's right-hand man in fact – Neil Mulligan."

Patrick's friends had mentioned the name 'Neil' in the passing when I'd been huddled down on the floor of the Chrysler. Visions of the white '54 Ford suddenly began to flash up in front of me so vividly I flinched back at the memories - the sight of it in my rearview mirror in that Lewiston parking lot, pulling up alongside me on Summerland Drive, following along in support of Kyle as he tried to force himself on me, and later helping Kyle to find his Chevy as Ace and I secretly looked on.

I felt a shudder pass through my body like I'd just touched an electric wire. "That's the guy who was with Kyle the night… you stole his Chevy."

"That's right."

"Fuck…"

"You alright there? You look like you're gonna faint," he laughed.

"I just need a moment." I inhaled a deep breath of damp night air as I leant back against the library's brick exterior. "Just thinking back to that night scares the shit outta me."

"Hey, you can be scared and let them win, or you can be strong and fuck them over." He made a good point. "Come on, don't pussy out on me now. You wanted to know."

I straightened up and stared at him like he'd just tossed me the most offensive comment in the world. "Who said anything about pussying out? As far as I'm concerned, the asshole deserves it." Straight after my vengeful whim, sense hit me and I began to question the idea. "But..." The rest of the sentence was to be, '_are you_ _sure taking another one is a good idea?'_ but I wisely rephrased so it didn't sound like I was questioning his motives. "But… why are we taking another one?"

"Because Kyle's still got a lot to answer for, for what he did to you. A couple of black eyes and a broken nose ain't enough in my book. That's just the start."

"Oh… I see." I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I wasn't keen for more violence, which now seemed likely on the horizon. _Shit. There I go again… fucking disagreeing with him and letting my opinions get in the way his plans._ This would not do.

"What Kyle did to you, ain't the first time he's done something like that."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. There's been a few over the years, but they've all kept it zipped."

"So, how do you know about it?"

"Word gets around when you start gloating to people you can't trust."

"Right…"

"As far as I know, he's never killed anyone but… I think you were lucky to get away that night. When you fought back the way you did, that would've severely fucked him off. He's not a good one with restraint Cass – either you would've come back to me raped and unrecognizable, or he would've gone the whole way, dumped you in the Royal River and you would've been another cold case on the airwaves – just like that Brower kid until we found him."

My skin prickled over and the tiny hairs on my arms stood up as I tried to comprehend the shocking possibilities. Kyle was proving to be more than just another rebellious JD. For some reason, he was beginning to remind me of what I'd heard of Lewis.

"So are you with me on this?" he asked.

"Uh-huh. I'm with you."

"Good girl. Now, you shouldn't need to rush it. Ugly fuck'll be in there tryin' to pickup some highschool ass. No other reason for goin' to a school dance."

"Oh I see," I grinned knowingly, "and how do you know that? One of _your_ pickup spots, was it?"

"One of, yeah." That wiped the grin off my face. "But if it were me I'd be out with a girl in five minutes. With his butt ugly ass face he'll be in there till it ends and still come out empty handed."

My cheeks rose with an amused grin I threw my head back, chuckling. He knew just what to say to lift my mood. "Aw, you make me laugh, you do."

"What? You saw the fucker right? I'm serious!"

"Yeah, he is pretty hideous."

"Anything else you need to know?"

I was taken aback by how he was suddenly so willing to give me information, simply by assuring him that I was with him on this. "Just… will you pick me up from Markus's later on? Or should I ask someone to drop me off at yours when they get back?"

"I'll come to you." He stepped close and pushed me hard up against the wall, kissing me so intensely that for a second I forgot we were standing the back of a dark alley and the reason for it. I moaned and tilted my head to one side, offering him to go down on my neck. I got a kiss under the ear at best before he pulled out and walked away, disappearing into the blackness, leaving me wound up and panting for more.

_Dam you… now how am I supposed to concentrate?_

After shaking my head out of the clouds I pulled the watch Ace gave me from my pocket. It was too dark too see from there so I held it around the corner towards the street lights to see the time. 10pm. That meant I could go at 10.30.

Ten minutes felt like an hour. I restlessly shuffled on my feet, dying to get on with it and then get out of there. I shot another look around the corner to check on the car and eyed the little lookout spot behind the stairs. I'd originally planned to wait a full twenty minutes before abandoning my safe spot behind the building, but was too anxious to linger there any longer. With just a few long strides I briskly skimmed along the wall and crouched down into the small cavity. It wasn't the brilliant look out I'd imagined. The cars parallel parked along the road obscured any view of the hall, the library blocked the view to my left, but I had a great view of the street to my right. The problem with that was, if anyone wandered down the street _from_ my right they'd see me crouched there. After a minute I felt too vulnerable to stay so I retreated back behind the library.

The next twenty minutes were agonizing. As the time to act grew nearer, the layer of sweat covering my skin grew stickier. My heart pounded in my throat like it had vacated my chest and found itself a new home. My watch ticked over to 10.30. Time to move. And perhaps time for a different tactic. I crossed the 10 ft. wide ally to the wall of the other building and skimmed all the way along it to the corner, to stand right on the inner edge of the sidewalk. It wasn't an ideal position to stand in because the streetlights shone directly on me, but at least I could finally gain a complete picture of my surroundings. The venue was active with high school kids but they were mostly hanging out the front of the dance hall in the car park, well off the road, on the other side of the street. One car pulled out of the hall's driveway after picking up a passenger, but that was the only car that moved the whole two minutes I stood there. From that, I gathered that the dance wasn't about to end any time soon. A group of kids were loitering away to my left, but they were too busy keeping watch on the hall as they passed a sneaky smoke between them, to bother about me.

_Fuck this, let's move. Thirty seconds and I'll be out of here._ I moved. Two wide steps and I was at the car. Cloth over the door handle, tension wrench in, lock pick in and I raked. The tension wrench turned the cylinder and I pulled the handle, clicking the door open… and then I stopped. Something wasn't right… the hairs that stood up on my back of my neck told me so. I glimpsed around in every direction, then to the group of kids down the road. And then I saw him. Even worse, he was staring straight at me.

_Fuck me… Jesus no…_

I bumped the door closed with my hip and bolted back down the alley the way I came. He'd seen me, he was gonna follow me… _FUCK!_

_Left or right?_ I asked myself in panic. _Left or fucking right?!_

I dashed left, which was the opposite direction Ace and I had come in, the opposite direction to the dance hall, and towards Grand Street. I scurried into a little alcove that was a shop's back doorway, praying he'd either pick the opposite direction or it'd be too dark for him to see me in there when he walked past.

"Cass?" I heard his voice call after his short trip up the alley.

There was no light at all back here, not even the moonlight reached this small space. I was completely enveloped in darkness. So I decided to take a chance and stuck my head out. I could only just make out Chris's figure. For my luck, he'd picked the opposite direction and was walking away from me, deeper into the darkness. But that didn't completely solve my problem. Somehow I had to get out of this small alcove, down the alley and to the car, without him seeing me.

"Cass?" I heard him call again. This time his voice was much more distant.

_Fuck it._ I moved. I stepped out of the alcove on feet so light they'd hardly leave a footprint, turned the corner, and then sprinted down the alley like I was going for a world record in the hundred meter sprint. I slowed when I hit the sidewalk, remembering to keep my composure and not look suspicious… hah. I opened the already unlocked door and slid in, pulling it shut behind me. I shifted over into the driver's seat, threw my picks into the lock and fired it up. _Fuck…_ he was low on fucking gas. Like I needed another challenge. Too late now. I casually pulled away from the curb towards Grand Street, checking my rear view mirror. There was no sign of Chris, but it didn't matter. He'd seen me near the car, and now the car was missing.

* * *

**Story Beats**

1 Ace advises against Cass paying Keith back the three grand

1 Cass defies Ace by paying Keith his money

2 Cass resents Ace for keeping secrets and confronts him

2 Ace confronts Cass about her mistrust and controlling ways

2 Cass realises she must change for their relationship to work

3 Ace drives out of town for a mysterious meeting

4 Ace tells Cass to steal another one of the Jefferson boys cars

4 Ace tests Cass by telling her the reason for the boost

4 Chris catches Cass in the act

* * *

**Please leave your thoughts or comments below! :)**


	33. Chapter 13: At All Costs

**At All Costs**

* * *

_I should've called it off. Fuck! _ I thumped my fists on the steering wheel as I pulled it into Markus's garage. There wasn't another car in sight which meant Vince and Eyeball weren't back yet. It looked like Markus wasn't back yet either, but his Buick could've been parked up at his house.

_What am I gonna tell Ace?_ I wiped down the steering wheel, ignition and other areas I may have touched, even though it was kinda pointless now that I was in the 'safe zone'. I moodily climbed out of the car, closed the door behind me, wiped, and then headed through the garage and into the trailer.

_Am I gonna tell Ace?_ I opened the fridge to grab a beer and then spied a half bottle of Jim Beam on the kitchen bench. I put the beer back. Bottle of Beam in hand, I slumped into one of the sofas to brood some more.

_Dammit Chris!_ I couldn't tell Ace. Ace would hunt him down and kill him. Or at least beat him half to death. I couldn't have that. Keeping things from Ace was a crime, but no matter what the risk was to me I couldn't put Chris in danger.

_So what are you gonna do?_ Find him. Find Chris and talk to him. Tell him whatever it took to satisfy his curiosity.

_Oh yeah? Like what? That it was a friend's car?_ Neil probably came out of that dance hall screaming bloody murder that someone had nicked his wheels. The whole street would've heard about it… and Chris would've known who did it. Chris is a smart kid and I liked to think he would protect me in the same way I strived to protect him.

_But would he? And did anyone else see me? _That's what I needed to find out.

An hour later, car headlights lit up the room and I wondered who'd arrived. I'd greatly improved my bottle flicking skills during that time and slightly hoped it was Vince or Eyeball so I could offer up a challenge. OK, more to the truth… I hoped it was them so I wouldn't have to face Ace. The car parked out front instead of driving around the back to the garage. _Shit._ That meant it was either Ace or Markus.

The door of the trailer opened and Ace poked his head in to see me leaning against the kitchen bench with a near empty bottle of Beam.

"Celebrating without me?" he smirked, walking past to take a quick peek in the shed. "You got it. Good job."

"You surprised about that?" I pushed what really happened out of my mind, but my heart rate was not slowing by any means.

"Course not. You're a natural at this stuff." He stepped close and put his hands on my hips, lifting me up onto the bench.

"Why thank you." _God Cassie… we'll make a good liar out of you yet._ I wrapped my arms around his neck, legs around his ass, and towed him in tight. This was for Chris… and I couldn't let him down. Not in this way.

Ace dived straight in for my neck this time, gaining a loud groan of approval from me. My breathing became heavy as he took control, stripping me of my jacket and my top, leaving me in my blood red, silk push-up bra. The more his tongue touched me, the needier I became until I was writhing and desperate for him to take me right there. Fuck up or no fuck up, I was still running high on adrenaline and feeling more than a wee bit reckless. The Jim Beam didn't help.

"The guys'll be back soon," he growled lowly in my ear, his hot breath only making me want it more.

"Probably nothing they ain't seen before."

"Oh, they ain't seen nothin' like you baby." Ace undid my jeans and ripped them down off me along with my blood red, silk panties. Five seconds later he was in me and I was groaning and gasping for breath. I was so high on emotion – love, lust, disappointment and self-loathing – that I didn't even hear the car pull up in front of the trailer, didn't see the headlights beaming in through the curtains and didn't notice the front door opening. My head was tossed back towards the ceiling as Ace pounded on me, not about to stop for anything.

"What the fuck? Oh, Jesus! Guys! On my kitchen bench?"

Ace and I groaned together as the front door slammed again. It was as if Markus hadn't even made an appearance. "Here it comes baby." Ace held my head close to his chest as he unloaded, setting off several tidal waves for me.

My head collapsed onto his shoulder and he held me, kissing me on the temple. "Good one huh?"

"Incredible, as always," I smiled at him wearily. "Thank you."

I disappeared into the tiny bathroom to clean up and caught a look at myself in the mirror. I had one of those stupid grins on my face that you can only get from having your world rocked. But then as I looked into my eyes, staring right down through the barrels into my soul, my grin faded. I now kept a secret hidden way down in there, and the only way to protect it and ensure its safety was to lock it away deep so that it became easy to pretend it didn't exist. I accepted that I had to let go of control, let Ace be the decision maker and the protector. But his protection didn't cover Chris. That was still my job.

* * *

**2**

"Ready to go?" I asked, emerging from the bathroom.

Ace stood in the middle of the room with his fists on his hips, licking his lips in thought. "Not yet. We've got shit to talk about."

_Oh fuck…_ my heart beat faster. _He couldn't know… could he?_ Nothing is impossible when it comes to Ace. For all I knew he could've posted someone to watch me do the job. They could've seen everything…

"I think now's a good time to let you in on what I've been up to over the last week."

_Wow, that was close…_ Relief hit me to the extreme; I felt like I'd just dodged a bullet. But I didn't show one crack of it. "No, it's OK, you don't have to. You know what you're doing and it was stupid of me to expect you to run everything by me all the time. So, it's cool."

"It's good you've started seeing things like that, but… I need to tell you. You'll be playing a big part in this."

"So I've gone from not being allowed to know, to playing a big part… I guess that's progress…"

"I just wanted to make sure a few things were settled before bringing you into it. This isn't one of those things you'll argue with me about, trust me."

"Alright…" I lowered myself onto the sofa arm to listen attentively.

"A week or so ago I reconnected with an old buddy of mine – Toby," he began, opening the fridge to grab a beer from the well-stocked shelves. "A bit like Markus and I, we share… common interests."

"OK, am I allowed to ask in what?"

"Let's just say, if I've got the goods, he's got the contacts to get rid of them."

"Oh, so he's a fence?"

"_He's_ not, but he knows a few. That guy's got contacts like you wouldn't believe. Contacts with money."

"So did you… sell Keith's stuff to one of these fences?"

He hesitated for a second and I thought he might still be reluctant to give me too many details. "Yeah, met up with him at Sukey's. He offered me a good price, paid me, so I told him where he could find the truck."

"Sukey's? The night I met your old man? That's where you were?"

"Yeah. Anyway, I haven't done anything like that in while and my contacts turned stale. So I got in touch with Toby and he hooked me up. But that's not the only contact he gave me."

"The guy you went to see today?"

"Yeah. He's just moved here from Bolivia. You know what they grow in South America?"

"Erm… no…"

"Coca leaves. This guy's got an uncle back home who's a farmer and, long story short, they wanna set up a cocaine lab right here in Oregon."

"Wow… OK…"

"You can't get much better than that. These guys can produce some high quality shit – genuine Bolivian Bingo Dust. You think Carl's got good stuff… this stuff blew my mind for a fuckin' hour." He smirked when he caught me unconsciously licking my lips.

"So did he erm… did you…" I rose from my sofa arm and drifted to him somewhat hypnotically, eyeing his pockets for a bulge.

"Did I what?"

"You know…" I said with a hopeful, and somewhat buttery grin.

"No… what?" He knew darn well _what_.

"Stop teasing me! Did you…"

"Bring you back a sample?" He pulled a small plastic bag from his back pocket and teasingly held it up in front of my nose. My heart did a little skip in the air. I was about as excited as a dog when its owner tells it they're gonna visit the park. I tentatively raised my hand to grab it but he retracted and tucked it back into his pocket. "Don't get ahead of yourself; I haven't told you the best part yet. Think you can guess?"

"Erm… price? You're buying it off him direct right?"

"Very good. No middle men, just straight from him to us. And the more we buy, the cheaper it gets."

"Bulk buying?"

"And bulk selling. That's where you come in."

"So… you want me to find new business? Drum up some new customers?"

"In a way, but we've already got started on that too. Toby's a very popular guy – a very _wealthy_, popular guy. Every weekend he hosts parties either at his place in Portland, out at his ranch in the country or at his penthouse apartment in San Francisco."

"Wow… he does sound wealthy."

"Yeah, but he's had a free ride. He was born into money. He don't know what it's like to really _earn_ a buck. And because of that, he's lazy. You see, he knows some of his 'guests' are always on the lookout for the stuff – it's an opportunity just waiting to be tapped. Toby could go to this Bolivian guy himself and do everything we're gonna do, get full profits, but he just can't be fucked. He'd rather get someone else to do it and take a small percentage instead. But that's just fine with me."

"So we have to travel to one of these places every weekend? That sounds like a lot, especially with the cars and all…"

"Just Portland for now. So I'd say, every three weeks – something like that."

"So what do we do? Set up a little stall at these parties?" I laughed.

"No way… dealing this shit still has to be kept under wraps. You never know who could turn up – Toby ain't exactly one to spend the time writing guest lists. It's gonna be discreet word of mouth that does our selling for us."

"OK… there could still be risks with that though…"

"The higher the risk, the higher the gain. So you're with me on this?"

My logical mind told me it was far too early to agree to this plan. I liked to know something inside and out before signing my name to it. I'm a fine print reader and so far Ace had only given me a rough blurb. But, details or no details, Ace was asking me to join him on something big and I wouldn't opt out of anything that obviously meant a lot to him. Besides, the anticipated taste of those dollar bills was making me salivate almost as much as the sight of the _Bolivian Bingo Dust_ swelling his pocket.

"Of course. Count me in."

* * *

**3**

It _was_ good stuff. Incredible, in fact. _Easy on the nose, hot in the head_, as Ace put it. It was so high-quality that just the initial intense rush lasted twenty minutes, at least. The regretful part was waking up the next afternoon and remembering we'd sucked the bag clean in one night… and we'd drained down a whole bottle of Southern Comfort. The hard liquor was the only reason we eventually managed to drift off to sleep. Without it we would've lay there most of the night, both wired and exhausted at the same time.

Consuming so much in one night was naughty, but Ace's excuse was that we had reason to celebrate. If this new deal went off, we'd be looking at pulling in some serious cash. I'd been excited about the prospect the whole night and could think of little else. But the next morning, when it had all worn off and I was back in the world of reality, there was only one thing on my mind - talking to Chris.

I was all alone in Ace's bed when the recollection of the night before brought me out of my dream state, scaring me awake. Ace would've gone to Markus's place of course. No matter how wasted we'd get at nights, no matter how little sleep we had, he'd always be up and getting things done. Nothing ever seemed to bat him down. I envied his stamina. Although, that morning, I didn't feel too bad considering what I'd put my brain and body through the night before. My head had a low haze hanging over it, my nose was a bit stuffy as if I was coming down with a cold (which of course I wasn't), and I was starving! I hadn't had much to eat since Ace's sausages at breakfast the morning before. But even the food had to wait – now was my chance to go into town and find Chris while Ace wasn't around. It was already early afternoon and time was getting on.

After a hazy drive back to my place, I parked up the truck and left to find Chris on foot. Of course, there was only one place I had in mind to look… the treehouse. So, I hiked the few blocks to the vacant lot where their well-built wooden getaway sat perched in the massive elm tree. I hoped like hell he'd be there because if he wasn't I'd be screwed on where to look next. There was no way I was trekking up to his place and risking bumping into his father.

As I approached the large structure I had a feeling I was out of luck. The place was quiet and lifeless. I at least expected to hear shoes scuffing the wooden boards or faint sounds of talk or laughter. "Chris?" I called out, my average shout sounding more like a boom in the serenity. "Are you up there?" And then, there it was – a quick shuffle. Someone was home after all. I walked forwards to stand right underneath the trap door and called again. "Chris, is that you up there?"

"Piss off Cass," came a muffled reply through the floorboards. Yep, that was Chris alright.

"I just need to talk to you for a minute – please?"

"I'm busy."

"Just two minutes, I promise."

Silence.

I should've left the guy alone instead of hounding him, and I would've if it weren't so urgent. I climbed the ladder and banged on the trapdoor. "Come on Chris, this is important."

More shuffling could be heard upstairs and then the trapdoor opened to reveal a very flustered looking Chris. He was shirtless and I could see a young blond girl sitting on the edge of their couch just above. "I thought I told you to stay away from here."

"Oh… fuck," I chuckled at the sight of the girl. "Sorry Chris, I didn't realize you meant _that_ kinda busy," I teased him.

Embarrassed, he rolled his eyes at me in surrender. "Fine. I'll just be a minute April," he said to his girl before swiftly climbing down the ladder. "What?"

"Not here." I took him by the arm and began dragging him further away, through the long dry grasses and onto the dirt road.

"This is far enough," he said when we'd gone a few yards down the path.

"No, just a little more." I wanted to get as far away from other ears as possible.

"Cass! What the fuck do you want?" he ripped his arm out of my grip.

I stopped and looked him in the eyes, hoping I hadn't already pushed him too far. This was it – time to face the music. My opportunity to set things right… although, I still had no idea what I was gonna say.

"What did you see last night?"

Chris's hands went to his hips and I could tell he was already getting mad at me. "You wanna know? OK. I saw someone I used to call a friend doing things I never thought she was capable of."

I gulped so hard my throat felt like I'd swallowed a rock. Chris had always grounded me, and that day was no exception. "OK, that's fair enough. And have you told anyone? Did anyone else see me?"

"No, I haven't said anything. And I don't think anyone saw you."

"Thank God," I whispered with relief.

"Is that all you care about?" Chris said fiercely. "Not getting caught? Me keeping my mouth shut? Don't you even care that it was somebody else's property? The guy was pretty pissed when he came out to see his parking space was empty."

"He deserved it."

"Oh yeah? So now Ace is getting you to do all his dirty work for him?"

"There's a lot more to it than that."

"I know the guy too, you know. Neil, right? Kyle Jefferson's best bud. I know those guys have had their run-ins with the Cobra's in the past but what's that got to do with you? You should tell Ace to fight his own battles."

"It _is_ my battle. Because that guy Kyle, he tried to… let's just say I'm lucky to be standing here right now. And it was no thanks to Neil." I so badly wanted to continue on, to tell him the whole story, and I literally had to bite my lip to stop myself. I'd already told him far too much.

His wise blue eyes stared at me for a second, and I could see his next question coming so well that I wanted to run and hide from it. "So was that your only one?"

_Fuck…_

"Is that what you and Ace were doing in Chamberlain that time?"

I stared off into the grassy edges of the dirt road like a naughty little girl who was getting a grilling from her old man – that's sure what it felt like. "Chris, please don't ask me that."

That was all the answers to his questions combined. He stared at the dirt at his feet and then suddenly kicked at it anger, scuffing a knee-high dust cloud which then settled into the air. "Just what have you got yourself into Cass? Between this and selling drugs, it's not you – OK? It's just not you!"

My eyes opened like saucers and my jaw dropped an inch. "What did you just say? Who told you that I…" and then realizing my confession I suddenly switched sentences. "I do no such thing."

"Oh yeah? So then how have you survived this long without a job?"

"The lady who died at the diner left me an inheritance."

"So _that's_ what you've been telling people?" he laughed crudely. It was clear that he wasn't buying my lies, and to persist with them would've been pointless, not to mention patronizing.

"When the Blue Point Diner went down, I couldn't find another job. I looked really hard but nobody would have me. Except Ace; he came through for me that afternoon. If he hadn't then I would've been forced out of town, and away from you. I couldn't pass that up because… I found out that you knew about…"

"Eyeball doing the same thing..."

"Yeah. And I wanted to be here to protect you. I still do. That's why I'm here today, to make sure you understand how serious it is that you don't say a word to anyone about what you saw last night. If Ace catches wind of it, he'll beat you to a bloody pulp."

"I'm not scared of him."

"Well, you should be."

"I'm used to it."

_Stubborn little shit…_

"Chris, you have to swear to me you're not gonna tell anyone about this. Not even Gordie."

Seeing the seriousness of my expression, he finally agreed with a reluctant roll of the eyes. "Fine. I swear."

"Thank you." And then, before I could even think about what I was doing, I raised my little finger in front of me. I don't know why I did it. Maybe I saw it as a cute opportunity to remind him of our past friendship. Perhaps I was reaching out to feel some kind of connection. But anyway, it failed. "Pinky swear?"

"Don't push your luck." And with that, he walked on back towards the treehouse, running the palm of his hand over his hair in frustration.

* * *

**4**

As I pulled into Ace's driveway my bad afternoon just gained the potential to turn worse. The '49 was parked in the basin below. _Shit…_ he was home. I parked the truck up next to it, killed the engine and then sat for a minute to compose myself. _This is too important to screw up Cass._ I had to push the whole afternoon out of my head and pretend it never happened. The only way to be convincing was to believe my own lies.

"Where the fuck've you been?" Ace asked as I stepped through the front door.

I'd planned ahead for that question. "Just getting some supplies," I smiled cheerily, holding up a large paper bag. "I got some more milk too."

"It took you a whole fuckin' hour to get milk?"

I hadn't planned for that one. But I didn't let it knock me back. "Well, I went home too… just to check on how things were."

"You were only there two days ago…"

"Yeah, but I didn't _properly_ check on things two days ago cos all I could think about then was… the money," my voice trailed off as I continued shoving items into the fridge, using it as a good excuse not to make eye contact.

Then suddenly, just as I placed the last item on the shelf, I felt Ace's arms clutch around my waist and I was ripped upwards into the air. I let out a squeal and kicked out in halfhearted protest as he swung me around one full circle and then propped me up onto the kitchen table. "Well maybe, I expect you to be here when I get home," he said, slapping one hand on each of my knees and forcefully prying them apart.

I leaned back on my elbows with an impish grin, gazing up at his solid body and tough demeanor which was causing some serious dampness down below.

He leaned right down over top of me, lightly held my chin between his thumb and forefinger, and tilted my head to one side. "You should've been here," he whispered coarsely into my ear, "at the front door, naked, down on your fuckin' knees with your mouth open."

I blurted out a laugh at that comment – of course, he was only kidding around. "Well maybe I had better things to do."

He roughly released my chin before standing tall over me and ripping his shirt off over his head. "I don't know why you bother keeping that place Cass," he said more seriously.

"Erm… duh… what?" The sight of his bare chest literally made the words go in one ear and out the other.

He leaned down over top of me again and I cooed like a baby. "You practically live here anyway," he breathed into my ear. "Why don't you just go get the rest of your stuff, and move in here with me?"

"Ace," I held back a laugh, "we're not exactly what you'd call… erm… stable. It was only Saturday night you nearly told me to go take a hike…"

"Yeah, but we understand each other now right?"

I wished it were true. I understood _him_ well enough, but he was nowhere near close to understanding me. I couldn't give the house up – there was no way. In fact, at the back of my mind I'd always considered asking Violet if I could buy it. Every now and then I need space and time to myself. That's just me. And that house served as the perfect retreat to get away from it all.

That was one reason… but of course, having time out wasn't the most crucial concern on my mind. I would need a place to stay if Ace ever found out just how much Chris knew now… and that he'd heard it all from me. I'd revealed much more than I intended, but what can I say – he's a smart kid. That's why Ace never wanted me to go near him, cos he dam well knows it. I was taking a huge risk by keeping these secrets, but laying Chris's life on the line was not an option – I would do my best to keep him safe at all costs.

* * *

**Story Beats**

**_Scene 1_**

* Cass decides to protect Chris which means keeping secrets from Ace.

She knows that if Ace found out what Chris saw he'd beat him to a bloody pulp as a warning to keep him quiet (she's witnessed that happening once before - the alleyway scene, at the story start).

**_Scene 2_**

* Ace lets Cass in on his latest money making scheme

Ace reveals that he's been in contact with a man from Bolivia who's starting up a new cocaine lab near their area.

An old friend of Ace's - Toby - has presented him with an opportunity to sell at his regular parties. Ace wants Cass to help him out with the distribution.

**_Scene 3_**

* Chris agrees to keep Cass's secret safe.

* Chris works out that the boost was not a one off.

* Chris tells Cass he knows she's been selling drugs for income.

Like everyone else in town, Chris is aware of Ace's past criminal activities. Chris is angry with Cass for letting herself get more and more involved in Ace's schemes.

His brother Eyeball sold 'packages' for Ace, so it's only logical that Ace would ask Cass to do the same when she needs the money.

_**Scene 4**_

* Cass successfully pulls the wool over Ace's eyes. Ace doesn't detect that Cass is keeping something from him.

* Ace asks Cass to move in with him permanently but Cass is reluctant to agree. She doesn't feel stable enough to let go of her home.

* * *

**A/N: I thought I'd start listing the story beats in each chapter - I know its long with multiple story lines, so I thought these might be useful. You can now flick back through previous events to jog your memory without having to reread entire chapters. I'll slowly go back to fill these in over the next month or so :)**

**Good idea, or a waste of time?**

**Also, huge thanks to everyone who's ever taken the time to review or send me little comments - they keep me motivated! ****Without them I probably wouldn't have lasted this long lol. If you've n**ever reviewed before, don't be shy, I'd love to know what you think! (good or bad, heheh)

* * *

**Just to clear up a question I had: Scene 3 with Chris in the treehouse, he and April weren't getting up to anything too 'extreme' for 13 year olds. Nobody gets sex in this story unless they're of legal age, 18 :)**


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